Back Mats’ Cottage is part of Mora Farmstead at Skansen and originally stood in Venjan parish in Dalarna. In the 1870s, Back Mats and Back Karin lived here with their five children. The cottage is named after the family’s farm name, Back. In Dalarna province, it was common for the name of the farm to become part of a person’s name. This helped distinguish between people who otherwise had the same first name.
The family slept in built-in cupboard beds. Food was cooked over the open fire, and in winter many tasks were carried out indoors. Children were expected to help with the work, but there was also time for play.
Many farmers in Dalarna needed to earn extra income alongside farming. In Venjan parish, it was common to make wooden vessels using an old coopering technique. Buckets, barrels, tubs and other objects were made from thin wooden staves fitted around a wooden base and held together with an iron band. Inside Back Mats Cottage there is a workbench used to shape the wooden parts.
The move to Skansen
Mora Farmstead began to take shape around Skansen’s very first building, Mora Cottage, which was bought in 1885. In the late 1920s, Skansen developed the farmstead to represent an enclosed “northern Swedish” farm type.
The farmstead consists of buildings brought together from the parishes of Mora, Venjan and Malung. They date from the 14th century to the first half of the 19th century.
Back Mats’ Cottage is believed to have been built in 1755, based on the date carved into the building.
