Henning Mesterstuen - Gjøvik



     Henning Mesterstuen

We had the opportunity to take a trip to see the Henning Wood Carving Studio in Gjøvik along with our trip to Oslo for YSA Festinord.   Since Dad has a love of trolls and Norwegian folklore, and since the wood carved ones by Henning are the most treasured....oh and did we mention that Lillestrøm, Gjøvik, Ringsaker, Romerike is the area in Norway where Dad served as a District Leader on his first mission...oh and did we forget to mention that this is the area of Norway that our Norwegian ancestors come from...needless to say...we jumped and the opportunity to visit.

The Princess  & troll to the left is one of his unique and fun carvings.





Eastern Norway is more suitable for farming than on the west coast where the rocky terrain makes it more difficult

Sister Castle & Sue Ann at old church house on the way to Gjøvik

Another unique fence surrounding the church 


Another of the old churches - they dot the landscape and countryside in all the small villages in Norway and they are beautiful to visit

another wood door so we must have a picture






Another old church we stopped to see along the way

another unique wooden door

We are not too good at selfies so we were glad the Castles were with us on this trip

stairway leading to the church graveyard 

like we said our selfies leave a lot to be desired but we loved our company on this trip.   Sister Castle is a relative through Anson Call line.  She spent many of her younger days in Bancroft and Chesterfield also.


This is the most productive and utilized farming country of Norway



old schoolhouse



Mesterstuen

entranceway



The staute was hand carve by Henning's daughter who helps run the studio now since her father passed away.

part of the family homested

Lookout on the fjord and countryside from the family home

The Master at work

Trolls are Dad's favorite wood carvings

Nativity pieces - Most popular for Christmas season and the most expensive pieces

Candles are really big in Norway - every home burns candles for almost every occaision, especially in the darker winters and whenever guests are present.


Vikings are a large part of the Norwegia folklore legends

The Sami culture is deeply ingrained in Northern Norway

The Nisse is a beloved tradition of the Christmas season.

Love this carving of the troll with the children.   "Show us the way home tonight"

Loved seeing this one.  Haven't seen a wood stick horse since I was a child growing up.  Use to have one.

photo of his children riding the stick horse when they were young...oh the memories.




Nativity set is beautiful

Norwegian folklore 

Troll man and wife

The wedding procession is priceless and richly depicts the Norwegian folklore in great detail with the bunads and celebration of the special event.









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