About the mountain village Skåbu
Mountain village
Skåbu is considered Northern Europe’s highest rural community. Beautiful scenery and a rich cultural life are two important reasons why people still live so high up in the mountains.
The name Skåbu
Skåbu may be named after the Norse goddess Skade (Skaðir). Skade is the goddess of earth and winter. She is also referred to as a ski goddess, an “ondurdis”, composed of dis = woman, goddess, and ondur, an old Norse word for ski. Skade is the daughter of the giant Tjatse, who was killed while pursuing Loki and Idunn. Skade demands penance for the murder of her father, and ends up with her husband Njård. The god Odin transforms her father’s eyes into two stars in the sky. Njård is the god of the sea in Norse mythology. The couple live alternately in the mountains and by the sea. But Skade doesn’t like living by the sea and Njård doesn’t like living in the mountains. Skade and Njård therefore go their separate ways. Skade then has a child with the god Odin.
Photo: Anne Mari Lo
Photo: Anne Mari Lo
Mountain flora
In Skåbu, the natural mountain flora has good living conditions, and the bumblebees are thriving over the meadow flowers. Skåbu’s flora is lush and rich in species.
