According to the legend of the Heddal Stave Church (built approx. 1147) it was the the troll Finn who built this church in three days, after making a deal with the local farmer Raud Rygi («Red Rygi»). In order to survive, Raud Rygi needed to reveal the name of the troll; and in all of a sudden, at the very last night, he heard a female voice from inside the Svintrud Rock (Svintrudberget), just below today’s Heddal Open Air Folk Museum (Bygdetun):
‘Hush – hush – little child!
Tomorrow Finn will bring us the Moon.
Where he goes, the sun and christian blood perish.
he brings children to song and play.
But now my children, sleep safe and sound.’
And thus, hearing the troll’s name Finn, Raud Rygi’s life was saved. The Finn troll and his family fled to the mountains (Himingen, which you can see from the stave church). In the summer of 2023, in cooperation with Heddal IL, we brought the Finn troll back to visit people around the Heddal Stave Church. This is how it went down:
A brother and sister from the Netherlands hug the Finn troll
Visitors from Poland get a photo souvenir to bring home
Would you or your kids/family like to meet and greet the Finn troll, and hear to whole fairy tale, for free? Please, reach out to us at kontakt@notoddenopplevelser.no or SMS +47 916 95 196.
Read more about the legend of the Finn troll here: https://www.heddalstavkirke.no/sagnet-en/