The gentle quiet of the Dalarne region in Sweden opens its summer farms, or fäbodar, during summer and offers a taste of back-to-the land living. Planning a visit to the farm cottages in Sweden’s folklore province for a good family experience is worth considering.
A lot of the summer farms are open to the public and some even offer guided tours. These pasture cottages and surrounding buildings dating from the 15th and 16th centuries are found all over Sweden but are most often associated with Dalarne.

A lot of these places are made up out of small barns, chalets, and houses and create like a micro village. The animals are free walking and we believe that they reflect the past. This is how it used to be. Used to be before the world got so crowded and before we started mass consuming meat. It makes for a nice excursion for both children and adults to visit a fäbod in Dalarna.
The cows are milked, butter is churned, messmor (a type of goat’s cheese) is made and tunnbröd (thin bread) is baked. Many fjällbodar also sell products and serve food.
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Read also Attractions in Dalarne
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The summer farms are open from Midsummer and over peak summer. One worth visiting is Ljusbodarnas Fäbod about 20km (12 miles) south of Leksand on route 70 towards Mockfjärd, where children are encouraged to pet the cows, hens, sheep and pigs.
A long time ago in the olden self-subsistent household days there were 20.000 “chalet” villages in Sweden. During the summer the cattle were brought to the forest.
If trying your own hand at 15th century farming appeals, Prästbodarnas Fäbod, near Bingsjö, has a variety of native Swedish farm animals, and offers one-day courses in butter-churning, milking and cheese-making. The farming life seems a natural accompaniment to the breathtaking scenery of the province.
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Read also Sweden’s Folklore Province
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This summer holiday was of great importance to the animals and they were taken good care of by the shepherds and the women (kullor). The animals helped keeping the landscape free from brushwood. Grejsans fäbodar is a unique survivor of this kind of village.

At the northern extremity of Dalarne is the deceptively gentle start of the mountain range which marches north, gaining height all the time until it culminates in the snow-topped peaks of the Kebnakaise range in Lapland.
Dalarne is a transition zone between the softer landscapes of southern Sweden and the more dramatic, but hasher north.
Farm Cottages in Sweden’s Folklore Province, written by Tor Kjolberg.
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