Thomas von Möhlen is the oldest known owner of "the Capitain farm" in our village Övre Gärdsjö. He was a Major for the committee people

in Dalecarlia 1675-1679 and died in 1712. Educated in the young superpower and Sweden's offensive spirit, Thomas von Möhlen does not seem 

to have spend little time among the local women. On Midsummer's Day 1662, however, he married Sara Persdotter Schottenia, a priest's daughter

in Rättvik, who was probably born in in Irsta, Westeros around 1640. The family seem to have settled down in Rättvik around 1650's and their

descendants end up in the Frick family who today run Frick's patisserie. In 1751, Ollas Anders Olsson from a neighboring village, married into

the family, the farm was divided and the part where we live today is therefore called Ollasgården, the Ollas' farm. When we bought the farm

in 2011, we had little idea that we would find our roots here ourselves, it was just a beautiful place with many exciting riding and culture trails

around the corner, perfect for our plans. But a New Year's Eve when the whole family was ill, we started doing genealogy, it was the only thing

we did manage, and it was a breathtaking feeling when we one day found a connection between our ancestors and Thomas von Möhlen's family. 

Today we feel strongly about managing the farm for the future while we build up our Horse Academy Here. 

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In our village Övre Gärdsjö (Upper filed lake), people have lived and enjoyed themselves through all times. "The earliest traces of human activity

in the Gärdsjö area consist of two clubs from the Neolithic (4000 - 1800 BC) which indicates that the area was used by the Stone Age hunters at 

certain times. Permanent residence and cultivation of the area probably began during the Late Iron Age (400 - 1050 AD). The calcareous, fertile

soil provided good natural conditions for agriculture. The earliest settlement in the area took place in what now is Nedre Gärdsjö (Lower filed

lake). The village has one typical of the Iron Age beachfront location by Gärdsjön. Among the many cultivation cairns in the Gärdsjö area, 

some particularly large carins stand out in the elevation between Nedre and Övre Gärdsjö. The height and size suggest that these are 

Viking-era tombs." This is how Visit Dalarna writes about the Gärdsjö villages on their website, and our land is exactly the one mentioned,

the one that borders Nedre and Övre Gärdsjö. So it is for several reasons very fortunate, we ended up right here! 

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/ Ylwa and Mats Woxmark

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