The Norwegian Marsh Museum

The Norwegian Mire Museum is a modern museum that communicates the development of independent Norway throughout the twentieth century. When Norway gained its independence in 1905, leading statesmen were eager to find the basis for building the nation of Norway for the good of the people. Hence, exploitation of the mires became an important and national priority issue. In 1908, "The Emigration Restriction Company" was founded. Their mission was to facilitate Norwegian youth for new cultivation and settlement in Norway. The settling on Smøla started in 1930. The special nutrient-poor Smølamire caused major problems during cultivation work. The company "Ny Jord", therefore, established the research-farm at Moldstad in 1937. Without the research results done at Moldstad, there could not have been any settlement at Frostadheia. Moldstad has been a centre of knowledge and a gathering place for the settling community. In the 1990s, the research-farm was closed down. After the closing, the work to establish a mire museum on site began. In 2005, the Norwegian mire museum was opened on Moldstad.