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A deserted farm ( no, ødegård) in
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of ...
is a farm that was left abandoned or unused for various reasons.


Terminology

In Norway, this term primarily applies to farms deserted due to the
Black Death The Black Death (also known as the Pestilence, the Great Mortality or the Plague) was a bubonic plague pandemic occurring in Western Eurasia and North Africa from 1346 to 1353. It is the most fatal pandemic recorded in human history, causi ...
in 1349 and 1350.''Store norske leksikon'': ødegård.
/ref> In many cases, the description of the farm as ''øde'' 'deserted' became part of the farm name for posterity when the farms gradually came back into use again. Examples of such names include ''Øderå'' and ''Kroksundøgarden'' (both in Hole), ''Øde-Rud'' (in Nannestad), ''Hole-Ødegården'' (in Ringerike), ''Øde-Hval'' (in Ringerike and
Modum Modum is a municipality in Buskerud in Viken county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Vikersund. The municipality of Modum was established on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). The area has a long ...
), and simply ''Ødegården'' (e.g., in
Fredrikstad Fredrikstad (; previously ''Frederiksstad''; literally "Fredrik's Town") is a city and municipality in Viken county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Fredrikstad. The city of Fredrikstad was founded in ...
). A contracted variant of the name is ''Øygard'' (in
Grimstad Grimstad () is a municipality in Agder county, Norway. It belongs to the geographical region of Sørlandet. The administrative center of the municipality is the town of Grimstad. Some of the villages in Grimstad include Eide, Espenes, Fevik ...
) or ''Øygarden'' (in Søgne). The term ''ødegård'' is also used in
Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...
, where starting in the 1950s Copenhagen residents began looking for abandoned and deserted small farms in Sweden that they could buy or rent and use for the summer.


History

After the
plague Plague or The Plague may refer to: Agriculture, fauna, and medicine *Plague (disease), a disease caused by ''Yersinia pestis'' * An epidemic of infectious disease (medical or agricultural) * A pandemic caused by such a disease * A swarm of pes ...
epidemics of the 1300s, the population of Norway fell by up to 64%. Because of the reduced population, people abandoned the lowest-quality and most isolated farms, working the better and more central farms instead. In the 1500s the population started growing again, and over the course of 150 years the population tripled in size. In order to support and house the continually increasing number of people, the deserted farms started being used again. There were conflicts over the ownership of the deserted farms, with questions about who actually owned them after they had sat abandoned for 200 years. Landowners claimed deserted farms in their area as their own. Land that had no owner was assigned to the crown. Those that cleared the old deserted farms therefore rented the land.Sandmo, Erling. 2015. Bondesamfunnet i vekst. ''Norgeshistorie.no''.
/ref> There was an abundance of land until the end of the 1600s. Then competition for resources began again, creating the basis for a new underclass of crofters.Orning, Hans Jacob. 2015. Ødegårdene. ''Norgeshistorie.no''


Taxation

Deserted farms in Norway were exempt from taxes for a transitional period after farming operations were resumed. After that, the farm enjoyed a special low tax rate.


References

{{reflist


External links



* ttp://www.norgeshistorie.no/kirkestat/mennesker/1102-bondesamfunnet-i-vekst.html Sandmo, Erling. 2015. Bondesamfunnet i vekst. ''Norgeshistorie.no:''. Economic history of Norway Medieval Norway Farms