Romsdalens topografiske magi

Abstract

In the summer of 1935 Ernst Jünger stayed for seven weeks in the small village Eidsbygda in the Romsdal-region on the west coast of Norway. In the book Myrdun (Lat. Eriophorum) he published letters elaborating on the local culture, but also transcended his observations into the realms of mythology and the unseen. In the novel Besuch auf Godenholm (A visit to Godenholm) Jünger further explores the realms of the human mind, alluding to Nordic culture, but also by means of a hallucinating trip to counteract the cultural despair in the aftermath of the Second World War. The article explores Jüngers transformation of a factual landscape into literature of different genres and modes of expression. Jüngers picture of Romsdal is also compared to the notion made by the Nobel laureate Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson who was raised in Romsdal.