HISTORY OF LILLHÄRDAL
It all started with
HÄRJULF
HORNBRYTARE
THE FIRST RESIDENT IN HÄRJEDALEN
The name Härjulf is inextricably linked with Härjedalen, and it is also claimed that the landscape was named after this brave Viking. Härjulf was a marksman to the Norwegian king Halvdan the Black. On one occasion, in a rash act, he killed another of the king's men with a drinking horn, which forced him to flee. Härjulf took refuge with King Anund of Uppsala. Once there, he entered into an affair with his relative Helga, which did not please the king. Once again, Härjulf had to flee, this time taking his wife and a few faithful people with him to a valley, which is said to have been called Härjulfsdalen or Härjedalen after him. According to some findings, the place where Härjulf settled is said to have been "Slyos", a place located about thirty kilometers from Lillhärdal.
PRAYER MONDAY
A tradition that still lives today.
In connection with the fourth day of prayer, the Härdal people have an extra holiday called “Frimåndag”. This holiday is unique in all of Sweden. It has very old origins and was mainly called for by servants when they changed masters and needed an extra day for moving.
The Holy Week was celebrated with festivities for several days. It was important from both a secular and ecclesiastical point of view. The church held high mass on “Frimanday” and then continued for the rest of the week with mission auctions in the villages.
As late as the 1950s, it was celebrated with festivities at “Folkets hus” with dancing for three days and it was only on the third dance evening that you could dance without too much crowding. Many people also came from outlying areas, they simply went to Härdal and celebrated the prayer day weekend. The tradition of Monday is still kept alive today, there is high mass in the church and the schoolchildren have the day off. The schoolchildren are allowed to study on Monday at a different time.
THE WITCH TRIAL
A dark story about Lillhärdal.
During the 17th century, the state and the church persecuted alleged witches in several parts of Sweden, and these events also reached Lillhärdal.
In 1668, a number of women were accused of travelling to Blåkulla and consorting with the Devil. Over the course of two years, as many as 56 people became involved in the witch trials, and five are believed to have been executed by beheading and burned at the stake.
Today, you can learn more about this history at the village Witch Museum. Guided tours are available.
THE GOLDEN RUSH
Maybe there is gold in the village after all.
In the mid-1950s, a star of hope was lit in Lillhärdal, a small forest village in Härjedalen. Ore had been discovered with an incredibly high percentage of gold. A limited company was formed and the rush began. Due to the fine values that the analysis showed, this attracted a lot of attention. Newspapers broke all records and optimism was great, but there were also those who doubted whether there would really be so much gold in the ore. Those who were at the forefront of the ore discoveries promised to make Lillhärdal a thriving village with paved streets. There was a little oddity, however. The analysis of the ore had been carried out partly in America and partly in Sweden. The result from America showed a very high percentage of gold, while the analysis from Sweden showed the opposite. Although it was the analysis from America that was the correct one, of course.
Now, many years after the gold rush, life goes on as usual in Lillhärdal, there are no streets of gold, but there is a nice thoroughfare of asphalt. Nobody talks about gold today and the only thing that reminds us of the golden age is newspaper clippings. But you never know, maybe some hunter or fisherman will find a shiny stone sometime in the future, and maybe America's gold analysis was right after all, and then the star of hope will be lit again in Lillhärdal.
(Written by Y. Hedevärn 1968)