Grenselosmuseet is a small museum in a former schoolhouse at Skjølåbråten, by the lake Skjervangen in Eidskog municipality, just a couple of kilometers from the Swedish border. It tells the story of the border guides, the grenseloser, who risked their lives leading refugees and resistance couriers to safety in Sweden during the German occupation from 1940 to 1945.
An estimated 40,000 Norwegians fled across the border during the war, many through routes in this area. The guides were local people who knew the forest trails: farmers, loggers, ordinary men and women who chose to help. Some were caught and killed. Others survived and kept quiet about it for decades.
The museum is the endpoint of Flyktningeruta, a marked hiking trail that traces the escape routes from Skullerudstua in Oslo through Østmarka and Aurskog-Høland to the border. The route was established in 1995 for the 50th anniversary of the liberation. King Harald has visited the site to honour the border guides.
The museum is in Eidskog municipality, not in Aurskog-Høland, though the hiking trail connects the two. It is a powerful, understated place.
An estimated 40,000 Norwegians fled across the border during the war, many through routes in this area. The guides were local people who knew the forest trails: farmers, loggers, ordinary men and women who chose to help. Some were caught and killed. Others survived and kept quiet about it for decades.
The museum is the endpoint of Flyktningeruta, a marked hiking trail that traces the escape routes from Skullerudstua in Oslo through Østmarka and Aurskog-Høland to the border. The route was established in 1995 for the 50th anniversary of the liberation. King Harald has visited the site to honour the border guides.
The museum is in Eidskog municipality, not in Aurskog-Høland, though the hiking trail connects the two. It is a powerful, understated place.