Selen is one of the farms or pastures known as “fäbodar”. A fäbod was used intermittently to keep livestock and were inhabited only during summer. The word Selen means “the area where the water flows slowly.” Selen is situated at a high altitude. Selenbäcken flows in a deep crevice down to Lindor's fäbodar, then to the lake Jugen and on to Ryssån and Siljan. The stream used to have mills because people actually grew grain, which was unusual in a fäbod.
Selen is the oldest långfäbod. A farm and mill inventory from 1663-1664 states that six families from five Sollerö villages worked here. The fäbod probably dates back to the 16th century, perhaps earlier. Old documents show that there were 16 farms or quarries in the mid-19th century. Selen had four households as co-owners, so it was important to stick together. There were plenty of fences to keep animals away from the farm itself. The animals would be left to graze in the woods. And there were plenty of animals. In 1845, there were 6,000 animals on Sollerön (excluding pigs) that had to be shipped over to the mainland in large boats.
A few log houses remain from the 18th century. The cottage in Bustäkt was restored by the local community association in the 1980s.
The cottage is peculiar with its small windows without arches and glass with a vertical iron bar as protection against wild animals. The last bear to be shot in Solleröskogen in recorded history was shot in 1860.
The last sowing in Selen took place in 1912 and Selen ceased to be an active fäbod in 1914.
After that, loose horses and sheep were kept here in the summers. The horses that were not needed for farming at home on Sollerön were allowed to roam freely and eat their fill in the forest around the fäbod. When autumn came, they were brought back to the island.
People were not worried about hardship in the past. There are stories of how they would ride a horse and sled for three days to fetch a haul when fodder was scarce on Sollerön.
The fäbod is beautifully surrounded by the lake Selisjön, framed by the mountains Middagsberg, Kvällsberg and Ljotberg.
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