Peter Norman

Peter Norman, Flivik

Flivik is a small, idyllic village in the northern part of Oskarshamn Municipality. To get here, you must drive along a winding county road through forests, past fields and meadows until you see the waters of Flivik sparkling behind the red houses and barns. The beautiful surroundings and tranquility have attracted summer guests for decades. Sometimes it happens that the summer stay leaves a lasting impression, the time in the summer house becomes longer and longer, and eventually, one becomes a permanent resident. One person who has undergone just that transformation is Peter Norman.  

Peter and his wife Birgitta bought a summer cottage in Flivik during the 90s. They were living in Stockholm at the time and wanted their children to have the chance to experience the countryside. That it became Flivik was actually a bit of a coincidence, as they were looking in a large radius around Stockholm. However, a suitable summer place appeared in the village, and since Peter, through his job as a heritage inventory officer for the National Heritage Board, was already familiar with the area, they decided to go for it. Years went by, and with each summer, they fell more and more in love with the place.  

The love for Flivik is shared with many other summer guests and year-round residents, one of them being the artist Lennart Rodhe. Rodhe bought his summer place and studio in the 60s and was active in the area until his passing in 2005. He was a very successful artist and is considered one of the foremost Swedish representatives of modernism. The year before Rodhe passed away, he and Margareta Rodhe established the ”Lennart and Margareta Rodhe Art Scientific Foundation,” whose purpose is to increase interest in and promote research regarding contemporary Swedish art. Upon the artist's passing, all assets were transferred to the foundation, including the summer place in Flivik.  

This is where Peter and Birgitta's story begins to intertwine with the Rodhes. It so happened that the foundation decided to sell the property in Flivik, and, long story short, it ended up being the Norman family who became the new owners in 2008. By that time, the house had become quite neglected, and the first thing Peter and Birgitta did was to start the renovation work. Since then, they have gradually restored the house, garden, and associated buildings. The children now each have their own cottage, down by the sea the boat is moored at the little boathouse, the garden has been equipped with an exquisite, beautiful kitchen garden, and during the summer months, sheep graze on the large grassy areas.  

The memory of Lennart Rodhe lives on and in his studio in the barn, the Norman Sundén couple has created an exhibition of the items that the foundation left behind at the sale. Here you can find artist materials, equipment, and art to admire. Peter explains that the small studio museum is currently not open to the public, but that it might in the future be part of the attractions in Flivik. Rodhe is not the only well-known artist who has lived in the village.  

In 1938, Olle Ågren and his wife Elisabeth moved to Flivik, indeed to mostly engage in farming, but before that he had made a name for himself as an artist specialized in city motifs and harbor images with elements of Italian 14th-century painting. His works can be found, among other places, at the Moderna Museet, Thielska Galleriet, and Prince Eugen's Waldemarsudde. What remains of Ågren in Flivik, apart from the rumor of having been a real ”grumpy old man,” is created by his wife Elisabeth. Peter shares that she was very interested in gardening and created a fantastic garden layout, which still exists. 

Peter is a real encyclopedia of information about Flivik. If anyone knows the history of the place, it is him. He has worked as an archaeologist his entire professional life and spent a large part of it engaging in heritage inventory, including in the area around Flivik. In 1993, he wrote his doctoral thesis, titled ”Medieval coastal fishing – a study of archaeological remains in coastal environments,” during which he spent a lot of time in the Misterhult archipelago. This great interest in history is one of the reasons he enjoys living in Flivik so much. ”Flivik has roots in the 1200s–1300s and perhaps even further back than that. There is a fascinating history here and much left to discover,” Peter explains.  

In 2017, Peter retired and moved permanently to Flivik. Of course, this is a truth with modification, as he has continued to work on various projects. Among other things, he, together with archaeologist colleague Michael Dahlin, has written texts for the kayak trail and participated in a project at Lund University about remains of settlements on the seabed, from a time during the Stone Age when the shoreline was 20 – 40 meters lower than today. Right now, he and Dahlin are in the starting blocks for yet another joint project. This time a book about ”Bossholms koggen.” Peter explains that a kogge is an early type of cargo ship that was used during the Middle Ages. In 1960, a wreck of a kogge was found outside Bossholmen, north of Oskarshamn. The wreck was raised, examined, but then sunk again. In the 80s, it was salvaged again and has since been stored in containers in Oskarshamn. ”Bossholms koggen” is particularly exciting as it has proven to be from the mid-1200s and thus one of the oldest wrecks found.  

There is probably no better place than Flivik to write a book about a historical ship. In the bay outside Peter's boathouse, you can even glimpse a wreck that lies dozing in the waves, although not as old as ”Bossholms koggen,” but a remnant from the 50s stone quarrying. Here, however, history is always present and inspires new projects. When asked what the best thing is about living in Flivik, Peter replies: ”We live right between the sea and the forest, and I live right in my interest.” 

Text and image: Jenny Svendsby