Setermoen is a town of about 2,500 people in Bardu municipality, sitting in the wide Bardudalen valley along E6. It has been a military town since 1898, when universal conscription was extended to northern Norway and the army needed a place to train soldiers. Today it is the headquarters of Brigade Nord, the Norwegian Army's main combat brigade, and one of the most important military installations in the country.
But the military is actually the second chapter. The first chapter is about settlers. In the 1700s, farmers from Østerdalen and Gudbrandsdalen in central Norway moved north to colonize the Bardu valley. They brought their dialect, their building traditions, and their church design. Bardu kirke, built in 1829, is an exact copy of the church in Tynset, over 1,000 kilometres to the south. The local dialect still carries traces of this origin.
During the German occupation, the camp was massively expanded with barracks and facilities. After the war, Brigade Nord was established here in 1953, turning the town into Norway's main ground force hub in the north. US Marine Corps troops train here regularly, and the military presence has shaped the town's identity. Setermoen declared itself a city in 1999, a somewhat optimistic decision for a settlement of 2,500 people.
But the military is actually the second chapter. The first chapter is about settlers. In the 1700s, farmers from Østerdalen and Gudbrandsdalen in central Norway moved north to colonize the Bardu valley. They brought their dialect, their building traditions, and their church design. Bardu kirke, built in 1829, is an exact copy of the church in Tynset, over 1,000 kilometres to the south. The local dialect still carries traces of this origin.
During the German occupation, the camp was massively expanded with barracks and facilities. After the war, Brigade Nord was established here in 1953, turning the town into Norway's main ground force hub in the north. US Marine Corps troops train here regularly, and the military presence has shaped the town's identity. Setermoen declared itself a city in 1999, a somewhat optimistic decision for a settlement of 2,500 people.