[renee]

darkbrowneggs has inspired me to tell a little about where I live.
 Since 1854 Röros in Norway has had a market in the third week of February. Winter markets around here were commonn as it was often the only tie that farmers had time or possibility to travel on the frozen fells and rivers. They would travel from one market to another bartering goods before returning home with the provedents they needed for the coming year. They could have up to 400 kilo packed on their sleighs, as they skiied alongside the horses. It was an exciting time for the isolated farms along the way. Here they could stay the night, tell their news and trade some of their goods. In the 1980's 10 horses and sleighs set off from my neighbouring village to Röros for the first time in 50 years.
 Oh, I must mention that Röros is in Norway and about 100 miles away.
 This year there were 14 participants.
Here they are getting ready to set off.

[renee]

And here they are at the first stop for the evening. They stop mainly at museums on the way and recieve a fantastic welcome from the winter tourists.


I love this museum and often spin there in the summer months.

[mojocafa]

 Thanks for posting this   

Brought back memories of when I lived in Norway, not that I have been as north as roros.

[renee]

I cheated at took a day trip on a bus to see the arrival a week later.

The group from Sweden are the horses nearest on the left hand side -I recognised the red blanket

[renee]

Thanks for posting this   

Brought back memories of when I lived in Norway, not that I have been as north as roros.

I think I would have moved to Norway if I had known what the subsidies were like for keeping sheep. I have never seen so mans sheep fences.

[renee]

I was so impresses by the clothes they wore. Never have I seen so many wolf skinsand elegant ladies.
The first photo is one of my neighbours


After the horses were cared for there was merry-making way into the night.
THis group started early and as I left there were about twenty dancers

[Dan]

Thanks for sharing, so interesting. 

[SallyintNorth]

Fascinating - another world

[benandjerry]

Brilliant 

[mowhaugh]

Thank you so much for sharing, wonderful photographs.

[Lesley Silvester]

Thank you. That was so interesting.

[Steph Hen]

Lovely to see, thanks for posting.

[HesterF]

Great photos! One of my friends used to live in Jokknokk and I loved all her Facebook photos of winter life up there. All very different from the Stockholm Sweden I mainly knew!

[john and helen]

excellent, so good to see other cultures 

[renee]

Thank you for all your kind replies. I am at a wool market further South at the moment so I am just catching up with reading the forum. As for Jokkmokk, The winter market is on my list of musts. The train goes past my village to Jokkmokk which is another 600 miles further North!