The Abandoned Houses Left Behind In The Pristine Landscape Of Scandinavia
Photo © by Britt M / REX / Shutterstock
Norwegian photographer Britt M visited Troms, Østfold, Buskerud and Akershus counties in Norway and Värmland, Sweden. In the pictures mysterious wooden houses, farms and cabins can be seen pictured against a stunning Scandinavian backdrop in Sweden and Norway.
h/t: dailymail
Photo © by Britt M / REX / Shutterstock
“A few years ago a serious infection broke down my immune system and made me very allergic to a lot of things that surround us in our daily life. This made it difficult, almost impossible for me to socialise, or be around crowds of people in general. As I was in treatment to get better I turned to the beautiful Scandinavian nature, to have a place to breathe free and keep my mind off my health issues”, Britt M told The Daily Mail.
Photo © by Britt M / REX / Shutterstock
“My health is back and I’m no longer a lonely forest dweller. Still I keep looking for and documenting these abandoned homes of Scandinavia. They became my refuge during difficult times and I feel the need to keep telling their stories – to keep them in our present even though they were left in the past,” he added.
Photo © by Britt M / REX / Shutterstock
Location, location, location: This house, simply constructed out of wood and corrugated iron, has an idyllic view of a fjord in Troms, northern Norway. But for some reason it was long ago abandoned.
Photo © by Britt M / REX / Shutterstock
This house is in Østfold, the southern most county in Norway, adjacent to the Swedish border. This property may have been abandoned due to flooding, judging from its position.
Photo © by Britt M / REX / Shutterstock
This branch line in Østfold, south of Oslo, has been closed and the station building at Gautestad lies empty and abandoned.
Photo © by Britt M / REX / Shutterstock
This beautifully lit shot of a tiny woodsman’s cottage in Østfold, Norway was taken with frost on the ground.
Photo © by Britt M / REX / Shutterstock
Low clouds scud across the sky in Troms county in the far north of Norway. In this part of Scandinavia there are around 60 polar nights a year – when the sun fails to come up for 24 hours, which can make it a depressing place to live.
Photo © by Britt M / REX / Shutterstock
Photographer Britt M said: “I was amazed at how many there were. Farms, houses, cabins and cottages. All abandoned many years ago and all telling their own little story.”
Photo © by Britt M / REX / Shutterstock
This picture was taken in Värmland, north of Gothenburg, during the brief but glorious Swedish summer.
Photo © by Britt M / REX / Shutterstock
Troms county is largely rural but the county’s capital, Tromsø, is a city of 70,000 people which plays a key role in Norway’s exploitation of North Sea oil and gas.
Photo © by Britt M / REX / Shutterstock
Many of the houses Britt M came across had been abandoned by farmers, fishermen or forestry workers. Their remote locations made them not worth refurbishing or even demolishing.
Photo © by Britt M / REX / Shutterstock
This house sits under dark skies in Akershus, Norway.
Photo © by Britt M / REX / Shutterstock
Snow is puled up outside two abandoned houses in Norway’s Buskerud county, west of Oslo.
Photo © by Britt M / REX / Shutterstock
A Swedish magazine lies on a windowsill in this house in Värmland. There were few clues to why these houses were abandoned but it may have been that they were holiday homes and their upkeep became too expensive.
Photo © by Britt M / REX / Shutterstock
A light is still shining on the porch of this house in Akershus, Norway, and a child’s tricycle sits outside. It looks as if the inhabitants moved away only recently.
Photo © by Britt M / REX / Shutterstock
Värmland is quiet now but 200 years ago the Swedish-Norwegian War was fought out here. Crown Prince Jean Baptiste Bernadotte attacked Norway in 1814 and eventually brought it under Swedish control.
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This picture of a house in Värmland was taken on a frosty morning in early spring. One of Värmland’s famous sons is the former football manager Sven-Goran Eriksson, who is currently managing a team in Shanghai.
Photo © by Britt M / REX / Shutterstock
Norway’s breathtaking scenery and its giant fjords were created thousands of years ago. The homes, many of them abandoned, in Troms county are similar to properties in the Scottish Highlands.
Photo © by Britt M / REX / Shutterstock
Photo © by Britt M / REX / Shutterstock