3-050-296 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Old Birch Tree at the Sognefjord, 1839. Additional Info: In former times, the enormous birch at Slinde Farm in the innermost part of the Sognefjord was considered to be on hallowed ground. The tree’s significance as a living artefact, its location on an ancient barrow, and the majestic nature surrounding it made it a perfect motif for Norwegian romantic painters in the nineteenth century. The tree itself was uprooted by a powerful storm in 1874, but the memory of the tree lives on.