A friluftsliv glossary: the words of Norwegian outdoor life

Q: Where does the word friluftsliv come from?

Its first known use is Henrik Ibsen's poem På vidderne, 1859, in the line "friluftsliv for mine tanker", friluftsliv for my thoughts. Whether Ibsen coined the word or borrowed it is not settled. See also: friluftsliv health benefits and winter friluftsliv.

In short. Friluftsliv isn’t a single word. It’s a small vocabulary. Around “open-air life” turn terms, legal, geographic and cultural, that have no direct English equivalent and that keep coming up when you read about the Norwegian outdoors. Four of them are defined in Norwegian statute, and where that is true I quote the statute rather than paraphrase it. It’s a living glossary: I update it when I meet a word that earns a place.

Friluftsliv

“Open-air life” (from fri free, luft air, liv life): the Scandinavian tradition of living a simple life in close contact with nature, as an adult, lifelong practice.

The word’s first known appearance is in Henrik Ibsen’s 1859 poem På vidderne (“On the Heights”), in the stanza where the young man settles into the mountains:

I den øde sæterstue al min rige fangst jeg sanker; der er krak og der er grue, friluftsliv for mine tanker.

In the lonely mountain farm, My abundant catch I take. There is a hearth, and table, And friluftsliv for my thoughts.

The scholar who traces it, Petter Erik Leirhaug, is careful about the claim, and so am I: Ibsen “probably introduced for the very first time the word ‘friluftsliv’.” Whether he coined it or borrowed it is unsettled; Leirhaug notes a suggestion that the French la vie en plein air may have inspired the construction, and concludes that “it all comes down to speculation.” The word appears three times in Ibsen’s writing in total.

Allemannsretten

Literally “everyone’s right”: Norway’s right of public access to nature, codified in the 1957 Outdoor Recreation Act. Section 2 of the Act grants it in one sentence:

I utmark kan enhver ferdes til fots hele året, når det skjer hensynsfullt og med tilbørlig varsomhet.

In uncultivated land anyone may travel on foot all year round, when it is done considerately and with due care.

I’ve written about it separately: Norway’s right to roam.

Friluftsloven

The Outdoor Recreation Act, dated 28 June 1957, reference LOV-1957-06-28-16, which codifies allemannsretten into Norwegian law. Its stated purpose names friluftsliv directly: to protect friluftslivets naturgrunnlag, the natural basis of open-air life, and to secure the public’s right of passage and stay in nature.

Utmark

“Uncultivated land,” where allemannsretten applies. The Act defines it as a remainder rather than a list, in section 1a:

Med utmark mener denne lov udyrket mark som etter foregående ledd ikke reknes like med innmark.

By utmark this Act means uncultivated land that under the preceding paragraph does not count as innmark.

In practice: forests, mountains and most shoreline.

Innmark

The term the law defines first, and the one that does the real work, also in section 1a:

Som innmark eller like med innmark reknes i denne lov gårdsplass, hustomt, dyrket mark, engslått og kulturbeite samt liknende område hvor almenhetens ferdsel vil være til utilbørlig fortrengsel for eier eller bruker.

Farmyard, house plot, cultivated land, hay meadow and cultivated pasture count as innmark or the equivalent in this Act, along with similar areas where public passage would be an unreasonable hindrance to the owner or user.

Note the final clause. The category is not closed by the list: anywhere your presence would be an unreasonable hindrance to the owner counts too.

DNT (Den Norske Turistforening)

The Norwegian Trekking Association, founded in 1868 on the initiative of Thomas Heftye. Its stated aim is “å fremme et enkelt, aktivt, naturvennlig og sikkert friluftsliv i skog og fjell”: to promote a simple, active, nature-friendly and safe friluftsliv in forest and mountain.

It is a federation of 56 member associations with over 300,000 members as of 2024. DNT tells members their subscription funds “merking av 23 000 km merket sti” and “vedlikehold av 600 hytter”: the marking of 23,000 km of trail and the maintenance of 600 cabins.

Hytte

The “cabin”: the simple wooden house set in nature, and the heart of Norwegian outdoor culture. DNT alone maintains 600 of them, open to walkers.

Hyttetur

The “cabin trip”: a weekend in a hytte out in nature. It is ordinary rather than special, which is the point.

Friluftsbarnehage

The “open-air kindergarten”: Norwegian nurseries built around spending the day outdoors in almost any weather, sleeping and eating included. Figures for exactly how much of the day are quoted widely and sourced thinly, so I am not going to repeat a percentage I cannot trace to a study. The practice is real and unremarkable in Norway; the number usually attached to it is not something I can stand behind.

Uteskole

“Outdoor school”: the practice of holding ordinary lessons in the woods and in nature, common in Norwegian schools as a regular part of education rather than an excursion.

Questions people ask

What does allemannsretten mean?

“Everyone’s right”: Norway’s right of public access to nature, written into statute in 1957. Section 2 gives it to enhver, anyone, on foot, all year, on uncultivated land. See the full explainer.

What’s the difference between utmark and innmark?

The Act defines innmark and treats utmark as everything left over. Innmark is farmyards, house plots, cultivated land, hay meadows and cultivated pasture, plus anywhere public passage would unreasonably hinder the owner. Utmark is the uncultivated remainder, and it is where the right of access applies.

What is Norway’s DNT?

Den Norske Turistforening, the national trekking association founded in 1868, a federation of 56 member associations with over 300,000 members, maintaining 600 cabins and 23,000 km of marked trail.

Where does the word friluftsliv come from?

Its first known use is Henrik Ibsen’s poem På vidderne, 1859, in the line “friluftsliv for mine tanker”, friluftsliv for my thoughts. Whether Ibsen coined the word or borrowed it is not settled.