Tørfoss Kven Farm

Tørfoss Farm/Kuivakoski in Reisadalen valley/Raisinvankka, in Nordreisa Municipality/Raisin komuuni was cleared in the 1750s and is evidence of the history of Kven settlement and cultural traditions in Northern Norway.

As early as the 18th century, Finnish-speaking people from Finland and Northern Sweden arrived and settled in Reisadalen valley/Raisinvankka in Nordreisa Municipality/Raisin komuuni. The Kven people were known as good craftsmen who built their own houses, boats and made their own tools. Tørfoss Farm/Kuivakoski was cleared in the 18th century by Kven settlers. The first person to clear Tørfoss Farm was Henrik (Heikka) Aronsen (born in 1808). He named the farm around 1830. The farm has been owned by the same family for five generations. They made a living as farmers and foresters, river fishermen and tar burners, and there are several tar kilns on the property.

The farm consists of a farmhouse, a cottage that was used by hired help, a smoke sauna (sauna), a barn and storage sheds. The farmhouse was built in 1931, while one of the sheds dates back to the 18th century. Tørfoss Farm is an important cultural heritage site in Northern Norway due to the fact that Finnmark and Nord-Troms were subjected to scorched earth tactics in 1944. These tactics involved destroying anything that might be useful to the enemy while one advances or pulls out of an area. Only a handful of farms like this still exist Northern Norway.

The main building from 1931 is typical of the building traditions found in the valley, but it features American-style verandas that were introduced by a carpenter who had visited USA. The interior has several typical Kven features, such as window sills that tilt inwards with a gutter underneath to collect condensation water. Under the sills are vessels to collect water. The doors have special panel designs, different from the designs that were common in Norway.

The small cottage at Tørfoss Kven Farm was built in 1920 and is erected on the foundations of an older cottage. There is a bread oven made of stone and clay. There is enough room in the oven to bake around 20 loaves of bread at the same time. It was used by both the farm’s residents and neighbours. 

The smoke sauna is built according to Kven customs using logs with cog and notch joints and is located a good distance from the other buildings due to the risk of fire. The sauna is a smoke sauna that doesn’t have a chimney, with a smoke oven that is typical of Kven culture and building traditions.

The special thing about Tørfoss Farm is that you see the development that has taken place from the 19th century Kven farm to the typical 20th century Reisadals farm. It has been influenced by both Norwegian and Finnish building traditions.  Nordreisa Municipality bought the farm in the early 1980s for museum purposes. Nordreisa Municipality currently owns the farm and Nord-Troms Museum manages it. In September 2019, the farm was protected by the Directorate for Cultural Heritage as an important Kven cultural heritage site, and was one of the first of this type to be protected in Troms County.

Do you have questions or comments to the text? Contact Kaisa Maliniemi.