How are the Norwegian wells revived and used by people today? The Norwegian wells are primarily attributed the national Saint Olav and appeared in the middle ages in the time after king Olav Haraldsson’s death in 1030 and following his…

On the baroque altar of the Basilica of Visitation in Trakai, we can see the picture of Our Lady of Trakai. It is the oldest venerated picture in Lithuania. The first pilgrimage in the history of this country was organized…

Places are being re-storied all the time. It happens on a very small and intimate scale such as new personal memories or with the specific meanings people attach to a place in everyday life. And it happens as well as…

What is the meaning of the natural sacred places? How should we approach them? When and how should we use them? This is the question often asked in relation to the public debate over natural sacred places in Estonia such as sacred groves, cultic stones, sacred trees, which sometimes have very few context in public knowledge.

Additional reading Valk, Ülo (2020). Goddess Temples in North Eastern India: Overcoming Narrative Distance in Place-Lore. In: M. Mani Meitei, R. K. Dhawan (eds.). Folklore Studies: Local and Global (125−138). New Delhi: Prestige Books International. Valk, Ülo (2017). Shrines, stones,…