Gopshus

Gopshus
Gopshus
State :	Sweden
Province  (län):	Dalarna County
Historical Province (landskap):	Dalarna
Municipality  :	Mora
Coordinates :	61 ° 6 '  N , 14 ° 14'  E Coordinates: 61 ° 6 '  N , 14 ° 14'  E
Residents :	67 (December 31, 2005)
Area :	0.55 km²
Population density :	122 inhabitants / km²

Gopshus was a Småort in the municipality of Mora in the Swedish province of Dalarna County and the historic province of Dalarna - meanwhile Gopshus has fallen below the population limit of 50.

The place is located on the Österdalälven . Riksväg 70 passes on the other side of the river . The station on the Älvdalsbahn is not in use. There is only freight traffic on the route. Gopshus is on the route of the Wasa run .

Origin of name

The name comes from Brother Linde'n, who used the name because of the western moors in the Österdal river area. The name Gosphus also includes the Gopal River and the Norwegian word Golpa , which also means burping or belching or in the Swedish dialect the word galpa , which also means screaming or yelling or sanding up.

The translation "strong, high-lying silted river estuary" can also be interpreted. The -hus is a result of colloquial dialect.

history

Gopshus is an old village. It is mentioned as early as the 15th century by Gustav Wasa's tax collectors. The oldest document in Mora, which says something about the population of the communities, dates from 1539, in which it is stated that there are ten taxpayers in Gopshus at that time. At the time, the village was a little northwest of today's location, on the Gopal River. Remains of some courtyards, the Finsanhof and the Norddorfhof can still be seen and are evidence of this era.

Gopshus was never a big village. The population grew slowly and included around 200 inhabitants at the beginning of the 19th century, but after 1950 the number fell sharply again. Just like in other villages, there was little work and income opportunities, but some were added again, so that around 1995 it had around 100 inhabitants. Some of them only had their holiday homes here, so that around 75 people lived in the village every day.

Because of its location, Gopshus was never heavily farmed. Due to the topography, there are only small fields between rock and forests or areas that cannot be used for agriculture. In order to maintain the animal population one was forced to open up new meadows and bog regions as pasture every year, and even the meadow edges of the paths had to be used as winter supplies. Despite these circumstances, there were at least 30 farms that kept animals in the 1930s. Today there are no more cattle in Gopshus, but there are a few horses and a herd of sheep. In the past, women brought the cows into the area after milking and the horses were needed for forest work. A fence made of thin tree trunks, the so-called Gärdesgård, surrounded the village and prevented the animals from running back to the farms. All the paths were also lined with these fences so that the animals did not run into the other farms.

There were some pieces of land outside the village where simple huts were built for the animals and the forest workers. These were used regularly until the 1950s, now they are often just hunting or summer huts. This was, for example, Fagerås, which is five kilometers south of Gopshus and is still used today - mostly for hunting lodges or weekend houses. But Hållanberg and Storsvensbodarna near Evertsbergs near Älvdalen were also part of it. In addition, the Hållansås alpine pasture station was operated together with Oxberg. The Gopshus alpine huts have older predecessors; In the yearbook of 1663 three alpine huts were counted in an inventory.

The women were busy with hair lace work, which found sale as jewelry at home and abroad and was admired for its craftsmanship. The women also wove clothes and carpets, which were sold by the traveling traders in the village. The men made loom combs that were sold in Sweden and Norway. Wooden barrels and wickerwork were mostly sold in the surrounding area. The trade in horse-drawn carts also flourished, with textiles and clothes and other household items being offered for sale.

Hunting - or, more correctly, catching animals - was of great importance for survival in ancient times. The meat was intended for meals and the skins were made into clothing. The elk was the preferred prey and was usually caught in trapping pits. You can still visit these pits today.

A devastating forest fire in the area around Gopshus, which raged in 1888, resulted in a new sales opportunity. Blueberries and lingonberries grew to a large extent in the burned-down forests and Gopshus became an "Eldorado" for berry collectors. In the 1930s in particular, berry picking had become a welcome increase in income for the Gopshuser.

There are dark chapters in the story too. Around 1670 four people were charged with witchcraft in Gopshus, namely Knås Margit, Knås Elin, Knås Kirstin and Sven Larsson. The investigations for this began on January 10, 1670 in Gopshus. An eight-year-old child brought charges against these people and was heard. They all found death at the stake near Mora, where the golf course is today.

Gopshus was isolated from larger places for a long time, as there were poor communication possibilities. This was especially true in the winters, when there was at times no contact with the outside world. That is why it was a huge step forward when the railway - single-track - from Mora to Älvdalen was inaugurated in 1900. It got even better when the road to Mora and northwest to Oxberg was completed.

Hydropower

The brook that flows through the middle of the village was of great importance for the village of Gopshus. It was dammed and water wheels were used for grinding and sharpening tools, but it was also used for machines that could saw the tree trunks from the surrounding forests.

In 1918 Gopshus got electricity. Hydro power was replaced by electricity, but the old facilities continued to be used until the late 1930s.

The Gopal River, west of Gopshus, when the old village was still there, was also used for hydropower mills in the 16th century; In the yearbook of 1663 there were at least two flow mills. There were also mills with hydropower in six different places west of Gosphus, but it is no longer known exactly where they were. They are said to have operated a machine more than 200 years ago that could produce wood chips that were used to insulate houses.

Gopshus cheeks

A nature symbol of Gopshus is the Gopshus mountain (Gopshusbacken), as the Gopshus call it. The mountain gives the village its character and profile and in ancient times a wood pile was held on the summit for fire signs to communicate with the neighboring regions.

In his book about his travels in Dalarna in 1734, Carl von Linné mentioned Gopshus Mountain as the most famous in this area. But not only the nature of the Gopshus mountain is remarkable. The stones have been broken and processed, and there is a cave on the northeast side of the mountain.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Småorternas land area, folkmängd och invånare

Web links

• Gopshus tourism site