Hytte – norweski sposób na nocowanie na łonie przyrody

Abstract

Next to a traditional hotel, hytte is one of the most popular accommodation establishments among the Norwegian tourists in their domestic travels. Hytte (plural: hytter) is a wooden cabin with a small surrounding plot of land. It is a counterpart of a Russian dacha or an English cottage and it resembles a Polish holiday cabin (domek letniskowy). Hytte is usually located in remote, picturesque settings with attractive natural landscapes. A classic hytte is a modest building, with no running water, no sewerage and very often – no electricity. It consists of no more than two rooms. However, the majority of modern hytter are more spacious (80–120 m2 of floor area) and frequently resemble real palaces with all possible amenities. These establishments are equipped with luxurious bathrooms, bedrooms and living rooms with high-tech electronic equipment. The wealthier Norwegians buy plots of land and build their own hytte. The locations vary from fjord coasts, lakesides, small islands and forests to farmlands. The most spectacular hytter are located in remote places, such as a small island in the middle of a lake or on a hilltop. During the vacation season, the less wealthy Norwegians rent hytte from others, use hytter at camping sites (many Norwegian camping sites offer hytter, in addi-tion to tent and motor home space) and tourist cottage complexes. The huge diversity of modern Norwegian hytter is a result of their different uses – the largest ones are family-owned and used as holiday homes, while hytter, located at camping sites and tourist cottage complexes, are much smaller and modestly equipped. In January 2010, according to data from Norwegian statistical office (Statistisk sentralbyrå – SSB), there were almost 430 thousand hytter used as holiday homes (in 2005 there were 400 thousand and in 2001 – 354 thousand of them). Statistically, there were 88.4 hytter per 1 thousand Norwegian citizens. The most dynamic growth rate of hytter, used as holiday homes, was observed in Oslo district (Oslo Fylke) – one third of all hytter built in 2009 was built in Oslo or in its close surroundings. Apart from Oslo, the largest density of hytter (per 1 km2) could be seen on the southern and western coast of Norway and in vicinity of Trondheim and Tromsø. Despite the fact, that almost all Norwegian families own a hytte, the Norwegians do not spend their vacation only in their holiday homes, on the contrary – they are a very mobile nation. In 2008, Norwegian collective tourist accommodation establishments (hotels, hostels, camping sites and tourist cottage complexes) hosted over 28.5 tourists, with 73% of that number belonging to domestic travellers (tab. 2). Approximately 30% of travellers, visiting camping sites, used local hytter establishments (2.6 million tourists). Such a large number of tourists, using hytter at camping sites, only confirms the phenomenon recognized by the sociologists as the “Norwegian love of hytte”. The largest number of hytter is located at camping sites based in the four most naturally attractive and diverse districts: Oppland (1587 hytter), Nordland (1417), Sogn og Fjordane (1035) and Møre og Romsdal (961). All these districts are characterized by the longest shoreline of Norwegian fjords, mountainous areas and numerous national parks. The comparison of both, the number and the type of camping sites shows regularity – seasonal camping sites with hytter not suitable for winter tourism are mainly located in the south of Norway (fig. 8, tab. 4). The further north, the more heated hytter, open all year-round, can be found. The following points can be used as a conclusion: The number of Norwegian hytter (all types) significantly exceeds all other types of Norwegian accommodation establishments – apart from hotels, hytter are the most frequently used accommodation establishments among the Norwegians and foreigners alike. A dual character of hytter construction and use can be observed – they are either built near large, Norwegian cities or in remote, naturally attractive areas (at the seaside, at the lakeside, in the mountainous areas). Therefore, the location is related to both, distance (vicinity of a large city) and natural factors (area’s attractiveness). The highest density of all types of hytter can be observed in Oppland Fylke – a large, administrative district, with rich land relief and vast, ‘flat’ rural areas, two biggest postglacial lakes, high mountains and numerous national parks (Norwegian law allows building hytter in buffer zones of national parks). Norway’s southern coast is the most developed in terms of hytter as holiday homes, hytter at camping sites and tourist cottage complexes. The far north of the country is the least developed. The total size of hytter real estate sales and the volume of hytter rental market allow to hypothesize, that for years to come, hytte will dominate the Norwegian landscape as a place of rest and recreation for entire families.