Gamme from Amund Johnsen on Hardangervidda
A turf hut is an ancient earthen hut with wooden frames, covered with earth and peat. Along Rv7 on Hardangervidda you will find a gamme from Amund Johnsen, which has now been given a new lease of life as a sales place for souvenirs and typically Norwegian products. Feel free to take a break here, enjoy the fantastic view of Hardangervidda, and take the opportunity to buy souvenirs and other typically Norwegian goods.
Construction method
Turf huts are often associated with the Sami, but this type of dwelling has been used all over the country since the first people came to Norway. The construction method is the same as for the Sami tent lavvu, and the gamma is often oblong. The roof consists of twigs, covered with 4 to 5 layers of fists, and on top of this a thick layer of bog peat. On top of all this, two layers of different kinds of moss were laid, which did not retain moisture, but dried quickly and provided good thermal insulation.
Usually a gamme had only one room, but it could also be divided into several. The fireplace, which was used for both heating and cooking, was placed in the middle of the gamma directly on the floor. The floor was covered with a thick layer of short-cut birch twigs, which kept soil moisture and odors away. Seating and lying areas were covered with reindeer skins.
Amund Johnsen
The Sami Amund Johnsen was from Hamarøy in Nordland (born 13.01.1907 - died 23.05.1970). Among other things, he was engaged in reindeer herding with his family. Amund married Ella, and they had a total of six daughters.
When the war started, Amund and his in-laws acted as border pilots for those who fled across the border to Sweden, in search of work and freedom. Unfortunately, a picture of Amund as a borderless was printed in a Swedish newspaper, which led to the Germans quickly getting hold of him. He was arrested, and in July 1943 he was sent to Grini prison camp, where he was given prisoner number 12202. There he met fellow prisoner Sigurd Fossgård, who would later play an important role in Amund's life.
Amund was sentenced to life imprisonment in Germany. Without knowing what he was convicted of, he was sent to the Sachsenhausen concentration camp on 30 September 1943, where he remained until the end of the war. There he was given prisoner number 72120. Hunger, abuse, torture and disease nearly killed Amund in Sachsenhausen, but his physical strength from reindeer herding helped him survive.
When the White Buses from the Swedish Red Cross picked up the surviving prisoners after the German capitulation, Amund was disempowered, only skin and bones, but alive. He was transported to Sweden, where he was allowed to recuperate before returning to Ella and the girls.
After the war, Amund had a small herd of reindeer left, but due to bad times he had to sell the herd and move south. The family moved to Skurdalen on Hardangervidda, where Sigurd Fossgård offered Amund a job as a reindeer herder in the Dagali tame reindeer association. When the tame reindeer herd sold all their reindeer in 1956, Amund and Sigurd bought their own reindeer herd. They had the herd on summer pasture on Hardangervidda and winter pasture in Jotunheimen, and herded reindeer for several years together. But after Amund injured himself badly one winter, he was no longer able to work with reindeer herding.
The injury led Amund to focus on tourism instead. He built several turf huts on Hardangervidda and sold Sami products and souvenirs in the summer. In collaboration with the tourism manager and the hotels in Geilo, Amund picked up tourists with driving reindeer and sleds, drove them to the Ustedalsfjord for sightseeing, cooked and served coffee in one of the turf huts, and managed to support his family with this. One of her daughters, Ingrid, took over the operation of Samegammene in the late 60s and continued to sell Sami products and souvenirs to tourists right up until 2017, when she sold the operation on.
Madsen Design has restored the turf huts and brought the operation into the 21st century, in honour of Amund Johnsen.
(The text about Amund Johnsen is from Madsen Design.)
Turf huts are often associated with the Sami, but this type of dwelling has been used all over the country since the first people came to Norway. The construction method is the same as for the Sami tent lavvu, and the gamma is often oblong. The roof consists of twigs, covered with 4 to 5 layers of fists, and on top of this a thick layer of bog peat. On top of all this, two layers of different kinds of moss were laid, which did not retain moisture, but dried quickly and provided good thermal insulation.
Usually a gamme had only one room, but it could also be divided into several. The fireplace, which was used for both heating and cooking, was placed in the middle of the gamma directly on the floor. The floor was covered with a thick layer of short-cut birch twigs, which kept soil moisture and odors away. Seating and lying areas were covered with reindeer skins.
Amund Johnsen
The Sami Amund Johnsen was from Hamarøy in Nordland (born 13.01.1907 - died 23.05.1970). Among other things, he was engaged in reindeer herding with his family. Amund married Ella, and they had a total of six daughters.
When the war started, Amund and his in-laws acted as border pilots for those who fled across the border to Sweden, in search of work and freedom. Unfortunately, a picture of Amund as a borderless was printed in a Swedish newspaper, which led to the Germans quickly getting hold of him. He was arrested, and in July 1943 he was sent to Grini prison camp, where he was given prisoner number 12202. There he met fellow prisoner Sigurd Fossgård, who would later play an important role in Amund's life.
Amund was sentenced to life imprisonment in Germany. Without knowing what he was convicted of, he was sent to the Sachsenhausen concentration camp on 30 September 1943, where he remained until the end of the war. There he was given prisoner number 72120. Hunger, abuse, torture and disease nearly killed Amund in Sachsenhausen, but his physical strength from reindeer herding helped him survive.
When the White Buses from the Swedish Red Cross picked up the surviving prisoners after the German capitulation, Amund was disempowered, only skin and bones, but alive. He was transported to Sweden, where he was allowed to recuperate before returning to Ella and the girls.
After the war, Amund had a small herd of reindeer left, but due to bad times he had to sell the herd and move south. The family moved to Skurdalen on Hardangervidda, where Sigurd Fossgård offered Amund a job as a reindeer herder in the Dagali tame reindeer association. When the tame reindeer herd sold all their reindeer in 1956, Amund and Sigurd bought their own reindeer herd. They had the herd on summer pasture on Hardangervidda and winter pasture in Jotunheimen, and herded reindeer for several years together. But after Amund injured himself badly one winter, he was no longer able to work with reindeer herding.
The injury led Amund to focus on tourism instead. He built several turf huts on Hardangervidda and sold Sami products and souvenirs in the summer. In collaboration with the tourism manager and the hotels in Geilo, Amund picked up tourists with driving reindeer and sleds, drove them to the Ustedalsfjord for sightseeing, cooked and served coffee in one of the turf huts, and managed to support his family with this. One of her daughters, Ingrid, took over the operation of Samegammene in the late 60s and continued to sell Sami products and souvenirs to tourists right up until 2017, when she sold the operation on.
Madsen Design has restored the turf huts and brought the operation into the 21st century, in honour of Amund Johnsen.
(The text about Amund Johnsen is from Madsen Design.)