On the northwest side of the Nærøyfjord, the white schoolhouse and a few farm buildings mark Dyrdal. This is the first settlement you pass after entering the narrow fjord, and it is one of the oldest in the area. People have lived here since around the birth of Christ, maybe earlier. The location made sense: flat land by the fjord, a valley running up into the mountains with summer farms and hunting grounds, and centuries of reindeer migrating through the ridges above.
On the mountain ridge of Handadalseggi above Dyrdal, there is a long stone wall. Hunters built it to chase reindeer off a high cliff. That is how old the connection between this place and the mountains is.
In 1900, 100 people lived at Dyrdal. They grew barley, kept 64 cows, 103 sheep, and 159 goats. The main product was goat cheese. In 1737, the farm of Arnehus next door was granted a royal privilege to run an inn and general store, "highly necessary for travellers." The farmers built their own small hydroelectric station in the river to get electric light. In 1926, after years of communal effort, they got their own quay so bigger steamers could dock.
None of it was enough. No road was ever built to Dyrdal. Without a road, the village slowly emptied. By 1950, about 30 people remained. Around 1970, farming stopped entirely. Today Dyrdal has zero permanent residents. You can still get off the boat here if you pre-book, and walk into a village that time simply left behind. If you are lucky, you might spot seals in the water around here. Over 100 were counted in the fjord in the 1990s, but sightings are uncommon. They avoid the tourist traffic.
On the mountain ridge of Handadalseggi above Dyrdal, there is a long stone wall. Hunters built it to chase reindeer off a high cliff. That is how old the connection between this place and the mountains is.
In 1900, 100 people lived at Dyrdal. They grew barley, kept 64 cows, 103 sheep, and 159 goats. The main product was goat cheese. In 1737, the farm of Arnehus next door was granted a royal privilege to run an inn and general store, "highly necessary for travellers." The farmers built their own small hydroelectric station in the river to get electric light. In 1926, after years of communal effort, they got their own quay so bigger steamers could dock.
None of it was enough. No road was ever built to Dyrdal. Without a road, the village slowly emptied. By 1950, about 30 people remained. Around 1970, farming stopped entirely. Today Dyrdal has zero permanent residents. You can still get off the boat here if you pre-book, and walk into a village that time simply left behind. If you are lucky, you might spot seals in the water around here. Over 100 were counted in the fjord in the 1990s, but sightings are uncommon. They avoid the tourist traffic.