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Trolls: The Mystical Residents of Norway

norwegian troll

Giant and strong, not so intelligent, but very revengeful if cheated. That‘s how we can describe mystical trolls, about which the legends are created since ancient times. According to Northern myths, trolls originate from stones and avoid sunlight not to turn into them again. The fairy-tales tell that one of the most beautiful fjords of Norway known as Troljorden is the place where plenty of trolls live until nowadays.

Regarding Northern legends, Trolfjorden is the perfect place for such creatures. The surroundings are full of rocks so that trolls can hide from sunlight and unexpected guests. The heights reaching one kilometre attract loads of tourists. The other place where trolls are supposed to stay is Hardanger  fjord. Here, 700 metres above the ground you can see an amazing rock known as troll‘s tongue (Trolltunga). Of course, tourists even here give no freedom to roaring trolls. On the other hand, it is claimed that they have learned to suffer a few months from June to September, when tons of tourists come over to visit the place.

Trolltunga

Trolltunga

Trolls are known to be different amongst one another. Some of them are silly creatures on whom you can cheat. But then, as mentioned before, be aware of their revenge: kidnapped children or animals. In sagas, trolls are often shown as man-eaters! The opposite to them are friendly trolls who tend to help people. However, for such a nice gesture they are willing to get paid or favoured. For example, after helping to reach troll‘s tongue which takes around 8 hours, they expect a great reward.

Trolls seem to be complicated creatures, right? We will help you not to get the wrong message and introduce to different kind of trolls:

Troll of the forest. He stays in Norwegian forests and is often so old that you can even see moss going out of his nose as well mushrooms growing in his ears. Such a troll lies on the ground and pretends to be a huge hill covered with forest goods. Most of the time, these lazy creatures take a nap, but are still able to scent the people coming over. In that case, they wake up and chase people in order to eat them for what they did!

Troll of the mountains. This creature is as savage as the troll of the forest and, in addition to this, crazy about gold! The troll of the mountains robs everybody he meets on his way. No matter if the stranger is rich or poor. According to legends, one of the trolls even tried to steal the sun. The silly creature simply thought that it is a giant piece of gold.

Three-headed troll. The most terrific creature compared to the rest of trolls. He has three empty brains which make him do nonsense. One silly head is already a bad thing. Just think about three of them!

Troll of the war. We have only met this troll in the book called „Lord of the Rings“. He wears heavy coat of mail and fight with giant weapons. Only the greatest knights and restless pixies are able to win the battle against such a monster. Let‘s better hope for him to remain in books…

The Moomins. Just as the rest of the trolls, Moomins are found in contemporary books. The sweetest and the best creatures of compared to other trolls. Most of all, they appeal to children who want to discover the Moomin World. Such a nice creature we would even be willing to take home.  They also can sing in Norwegian. Listen here: http://bit.ly/moomin-theme

As you can see, the trolls are not equal. Some of them reflect in legends created hundreds of years ago, while the rest appeared in stories of writers from Northern countries.

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