The first guests

The first guests in Trysil were the pilgrims who walked the Klarälvsleden from Lake Vänern to Rendalen in the north. The trail is well marked through Trysil, and in the landscape we find names such as St. Olav's Pond in Trysilfjellet.

Trysil was on its own in the deep forests, and people were few and far between. There were scattered settlements along Ljøra and the Trysil river, but until the 1800s, hunting and fishing were the most important "commodities" for the Tryslings. This was especially true of the Vänern salmon, which migrated from Lake Vänern all the way north to Femunden to spawn.

Timber floating

When the Swedes bought up large parts of the forest in Trysil 200 years ago, new markets opened up – and new opportunities for work and settlements. With the floating, much of the timber from Trysil was sold to the industry at Skoghall/Karlstad, and at its peak, more than 1 million cubic metres of timber were transported through the Femundselva, Trysil and Klarälven rivers. In the latter half of the 1800s, timber was also floated from Ljøra to the Trysil river through the floating facility Støa kanal.

The lifeblood of the Trysil River

The Trysil river, which starts as Femundselva in Engerdal and continues as Klarälven on when it crosses the border in southern Trysil, is the lifeblood of the landscape, and it has tied together the history of people on both sides of the border. When the Tryslings in ancient times were going "to the city", they traveled to Karlstad. It was here that they were paid for the timber. As late as the 1950s, over 2,000 Tryslingers had an income from forestry work. "Everyone" had to work in the forest, and if you wanted to win the five-mile race in Holmenkollen, the forest work was good training for those who wanted to ski far.

If you wanted to win the five-mile race in Holmenkollen, the forest work was good training

In the winter, he was in the timber forest and spent the night in the log cabin, while she was responsible for the kids and animals on the small farm. In the spring, it was the timber floating that provided extra income for the family, but in the summer, the whole family participated in the haymaking.

From forest village to tourism village

Apart from the large forest owners, there were not many farms in Trysil. The vast majority had a small farm that required a lot of work, but which was not enough to live on for a family. In the mid-1960s, when the first ski lift was established in Trysilfjellet, there were still 700 small farms in Trysil. At this time, several companies related to wood processing were also established. The cabin factory Trybo, the prefabricated house factory Trysilhus and Trysil chipboard in Nybergsund are examples of this.

The lumberjacks in the deep forests became language-rich and hospitable tourist hosts

The construction of cabins in Trysilfjellet, Eltdalsfjella and in Bittermarka became an important basis for the tourism industry. Over the course of 30 years, Trysilfjellet became Norway's largest winter destination. Local pioneers planned and developed both in Fageråsen and on the south side of the mountain, and the lumberjacks in the deep forests became language-rich and hospitable tourist hosts in a modern tourist municipality.