It had been well known that there was traces of an ancient Falcon Trap by Kvålsætra in Skåbu. In 1991-92 the constructions was excavated and reconstructed. From the finds we could see that the construction had been used in the late 1600.

The Falcon Trap in Skåbu is the only one who is reconstructed in Scandinavia. It offers a way for us to learn how the catching of falcons and other big birds was carried out. It was mostly Dutchman and German hunters who came to Norway to catch Falcons. The permission to do falconry was given by the King in Copenhagen.

The falcons were brought back to central Europe. After the birds were tamed and trained, they were sold as hunting birds to counts and kings for large sums of money. (one Falcon could be priced for the value of 100 cows) The Falcons was used for hunting on other birds.

Falconry originates from Italy and has been a sport for thousands of years, though always for the rich and mighty. In the Middle Ages Norwegian kings was fond of hunting with falcon. They also gave falcons as gifts to Arabic emperors in both Babylon and Tunis.

Take a trip up to the falcon catcher construction and relive the excitement – but remember that today all carnivore birds are protected. The path up to the construction is well marked and easy to find and follow.

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