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LIFE IN NORWAY

‘Hyttefolk’: Why Norwegians are so passionate about cabin retreats

There are few things Norwegians are as passionate about as their cabins. In recent years this passion has only intensified further with record sales in 2020. How many cabins are there, where are they, and why do Norwegians love them so much?

Published: 26 March 2021 16:50 CET
Updated: 22 August 2021 09:55 CEST
'Hyttefolk': Why Norwegians are so passionate about cabin retreats
Photo by Darya Tryfanava on Unsplash

The history

Originally cabins, or hytter, were a place to host travellers who crossed the mountains on foot or to house fishermen along the coast. They were also living quarters for farmers who lived and worked on mountain farms.

These mountain farms became popular tourist destinations in the mid 1800s and thus marked the beginning of Norwegian cabin culture, also known as hyttekultur.

The first recreational cabins started to appear in Norway after the First World War with a lot of these cabins being hand built by their original owners.

The numbers

There are over 440,000 cabins and holiday homes in Norway today. An average cabin in the mountain’s costs 2.1 million kroner according to Statistics Norway, while the average price of a modern newly built cabin is 4.1 million kroner.

A total of 15,800 cabins were sold on the open market in Norway in 2020, over 30 percent more than the year before.

Trysil and Hol were the municipalities with the most cabins sold last year, home to two of Norways most popular ski resorts.

The most expensive mountain cabins are found in Hemsedal and Øyer where the average price is 4.4 million and 4.5 million kroner respectively.

Cabins by the sea are also incredibly popular in Norway, and also more expensive than those found in the mountains. A cabin in Færder, for example, costs on average 8.7 million kroner. That is a considerably more than the average price of a property in Oslo, which is around 5.9 million kroner.

READ ALSO: Property in Norway: What to expect if you’re buying a home in Oslo

Many in Norway dream of one day owning their own cabin and for many it’s a dream that isn’t realised until later life.

Those under 30 only accounted for three percent of new cabin owners. Additionally, those in their 30’s only made-up 18 percent, while the majority, 61 percent, were people between 40-60 years old.

Where are the cabins?

Cabins are normally found in rural areas, in the mountains or by the coast. On this map you can see how many cabins there are in each municipality in Norway.

Why do Norwegians love their cabins so much?

Kristin Lein and her husband have owned a cabin in the mountain village of Hemsedal, southern Norway, for five years now. After living in Oslo for many years they decided they wanted a cabin so they could feel closer to nature.

Lein says that one of the main benefits of owning a cabin is the freedom to go on a hyttetur, cabin trip, whenever she likes.

“We can travel to the cabin spontaneously without fuss or lots of planning as we have everything we need there already,” she explains.

She also explains why cabins are such an important part of Norwegian culture

“The cabin has had a cultural value to Norwegians for generations now. It is for many where bonds are created and family values such as empathy, caring and loving one another are learned. You find that you have more time for things, for each other and you enjoy and appreciate the days much more than at home,” she says.

Why are they so important?

It’s not just the people staying in these cabins that appreciate their importance. Many cabin municipalities, areas where there are a large number of cabins, rely on hyttefolk or cabin people, for the local economy to thrive.

Richard Taraldsen, managing director of the tourist board in Hemsedal, one of Norway’s most popular ski resorts and cabin destinations, says that ‘cabin people’ make up around 45 percent of all commercial revenue in the municipality.

“It’s a huge impact on the local economy. Cabin owners contribute 900 million kroner and those renting cabins contribute 950 million kroner in Hemsedal,” Taraldsen told The Local.

The tourist board executive doesn’t expect demand for cabins to slow down either.

“The last five years there has been an explosion in demand for cabins. That’s because there has been a good economy and demand has of course increased because of Covid of course. In Hemsedal alone there have been over 1,000 cabins built in the last five years,” he says.

With cabin people generating so much money for local economies, competition to attract cabin owners is tough.

“It so important for Hemsedal to take its fair share of the market because to move people away from the mountains where they already have cabins is so difficult because you have traditions and you have always brought your friends and family there, so you are quite settled. With the population growing and the economy doing well then, we need to fight for a fair share,” he says.

“The whole point of a cabin is to gather family and friends together and to get up into the mountains to escape everyday life. This has always been very important to Norwegians and that’s something that’s going to continue into the future,” Taraldsen adds. 

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READER INSIGHTS

‘It’s not easy to live in Norway without one’: The verdict on electronic IDs

A lot of everyday life in Norway revolves around using electronic IDs, and The Local's readers generally agreed that while obtaining one was hard work, the system works well once you're in it. 

Published: 24 May 2024 15:44 CEST
'It's not easy to live in Norway without one': The verdict on electronic IDs

Electronic IDs were first launched in Norway around 20 years ago as a means of proving your identity when using online services. 

Since then, the system has evolved significantly, and now digital IDs make up a big part of everyday life. 

Electronic IDs are used in Norway for everything from signing up for the mobile payment service Vipps to verifying your identity when signing contracts, ordering prescriptions, and filing taxes. 

The overwhelming majority of people who responded to our survey said the system was either “good”  or “really good”, with only around 10 percent saying it was either “okay” or “really bad.”

“Once you have it, it’s great, and you have to wonder how every country doesn’t have the same,” Adam, who lives in Bodø, said.

‘Impossible to participate in society without it’ 

However, many also shared how it was “impossible“ to participate in everyday life in Norway without one. 

“It’s perfect once you have it, but when you don’t, you really feel excluded from society,” Guillaume said. 

“When I first moved here, I kept saying you do not exist in Norway with BankID, which I still feel is true. You really cannot do anything in this country without it,” Holly, who lives in Oslo, wrote in response to our survey. 

“Once you have it, it’s really easy and simple to use. But if you don’t have it, it’s almost impossible to participate in Norwegian society,” Hazael, who lives in Grimstad, said. 

While there are several different options for electronic IDs in Norway, most survey respondents referred to BankID. 

This is because it is the most widely used, integrated and adopted electronic ID in Norway, has a higher security clearance than the state-issued MindID, and doesn’t cost money. 

‘It’s certainly not setup to help foreigners’ 

BankID is the best integrated electronic ID and, with an app solution, the easiest to use. However, readers’ experiences of obtaining a BankID varied. 

Some found it straightforward, and others found things much harder. 

“Challenging – it’s certainly not setup to help foreigners,” Adam in Bodø, wrote when asked to describe the process of getting an electronic ID. 

READ ALSO: The issues with Norway’s electronic ID system

One of the reasons foreigners can have issues is that the regulations on what is required for a foreigner to obtain a BankID isn’t necessarily clear for consumers, or for banks. 

“It was difficult to obtain the information I needed to get BankID, but I eventually found out through trial and error how I could get it. I was lucky, as I already knew someone in Norway. That helped me speed up the process,” Hazael said. 

Meanwhile, Holly shared how she felt that banks decided the rules on the spot when dealing with foreigners. She said she found getting a BankID without a job offer impossible. 

 “I remember going with my spouse and the relocation expert that was helping him get a bank account, we actually went to a bank and met a banker in person. When I asked the banker if I, too, could get an account set up with BankID, he and a group of bankers basically formed a huddle and whispered back and forth for a while before replying, ‘Maybe,’ and that the job had to be longer than a six-month contract. They just made it up on the spot,” Holly wrote. 

Even though Holly has switched banks, she has kept her old account open because the new bank cannot grant her BankID unless she travels hundreds of kilometres for an in-person appointment. 

However, some people had a much easier time of things. 

“Straightforward for me because we had a good bank manager. Opened bank account quickly and got BankID within a few weeks,” Sam, who lives in Oslo, said about their journey to obtain a BankID a few years ago.

Many others said the process was as straightforward as just showing up at the bank. 

Typically, having a Norwegian birth number issued by the Norwegian Tax Administration and other paperwork made the process of getting a BankID much more straightforward. 

Norway has two forms of national identity numbers, D-numbers and birth numbers issued to those expected to reside in Norway for a long time. 

“After receiving our Norwegian birth number, it was possible to obtain a bank account. After that, it was easy to obtain a BankID,” Hannelore, in Trondheim, wrote. 

“Long, bureaucratic and frustrating. Only once having a fødselnummer (Norwegian birth number) it was easy,” Arjen in Jessheim shared. 

Even then, some readers were asked for everything from payslips to rental contracts to obtain a BankID. 

Another reader had issues obtaining BankID after the Norwegian Directorate of Immigration sent their documentation to the wrong address. 

“Most banks realised their process was difficult but lacked interest or compassion to help. I ended up using a bank that had good reviews within the international community,” Sam, who lives in Ålesund, wrote.

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