Continuing in the footsteps of the Child Wanders in southern Norway

The Child Wanders Trail in southern Norway has a total length of 136 kilometers. It's a trail that carries a sad story of child labor. Due to widespread poverty in the western part of Agder (the southernmost county), many families were forced to send their children east to work on the larger and richer farms. During 1830 to 1910, exstreme poverty led to these journeys called children's migrations.

Greipstad Kirke

The trail has been marked and divided into 7 stages. Together with my friend, I have now reached the 5th section which runs from Nodeland to Kristiansand city center - a length of 11 kilometers. We started at Greipstad Church where we finished the last section a few weeks ago. It was a pleasant walk, well marked and with several information boards.

The child migration in southern Norway was a phenomenon from the 19th century in a part of the country where poverty was extreeme. The causes of poverty have been explained by a strong population growth, small farms and challenges with crops, which were becoming smaller. Many families in Indre Agder (a county in the very south) sent several of their children to the area around and east of Kristiansand. Here they worked on farms that were both larger and more prosperous. The children started to migrate east in April. In October / November they walked back home again. The youngest of the children were no more than 7 years old. They walked in groups and could walk up to 20 kilometers in a day. On the farms they came to, they worked with everything from cooking to barn management and herding.

The first part goes through Nodeland and residential areas. We pass several cultivated fields . But soon the walk goes uphill, through hilly forest terrain. It was a hot day, so in a way it was good to walk among tall pine trees that provided shade.

Postvegen / the postal route

Hestebrønnen / drinking water for horses

The forest path meets the old postal road. From now on we will follow it for a good distance. This road is from 1797. That is, that was the first one. It was improved in 1830 so that it was not quite so steep. Along the road are several interesting information signs that tell about the use of the postal road. At that time, transport was by horse. They had to have water. Several signs show where drinking troughs had been set up along the road. They were made of either hollowed out logsor rock. In order to get supplied by fresh water, they were placed close to streams and rivers. The postal road was in use until 1880. Today it is a decent gravel road that is well maintained.

We are still on the old post road, at Kvislevann. An information board says a little about how this "bridge" came to be. Originally the postal road went around the lake. But because it was demanding, it was desided (1830) to try to make a fill with stones and other material to form a bridge across the lake. Several attempts were made. But it was not until 1861 that the one we see now was completed. It has collapsed a couple of times, but was repaired each time. Even though I live in Kristiansand and within walking distance of this place, it was the first time I have been here!

This is definitely a beautiful place. We ended up eating our packed lunch here, after we had crossed. It was also at this point that we started to meet several other people who were either walking or cycling. We also took the time to move a little to both sides of the bridge to take photos. At this point we were almost halfway to Kristiansand.

We continued to Suldalen. We noticed that there is little water in the streams and rivers. The waterlevel in the small lakes are also much lower than usual. It is the end of August and a summer with much less rain than usual.

The main road to the city centre of Kristiansand

Kristiansand (main shopping street)

Torvet

The road through Suldalen meets Setesdalsveien and we continued on footpath to the city. Once there, this section ends at Torvet / main square in Kristiansand. This is where the cathedral and town hall are located. In the old days, this was also where farmers brought goods such as fruit, vegetables, cheese, etc. There is still some trade from stalls today, but now in the summer season it is mostly souvenirs aimed at tourists. When autumn comes, Saturdays are still a day when we can buy fresh fruit and vegetables at Torvet. The square is filled with cafes and restaurants. Instead of shopping food, like the children would have done. Instead we satt in the sun with a glass of wine, realizing we only have two stages left.