This is a report that I compiled to present to a Scandinavian group meeting. ( I am the cultural chairperson of my local VASA Lodge, and as such often present historical and biographical information on Scandinavian and Nordic eople such as Alfred Nobel, Carl Larson, Selma Lagerlof, Astrid Lindgrin, etc.)

Ole Borneman Bull, Norwegian violinist and utopian idealist
Born Bergen, Norway, February 5, 1810 –
Died in Lyso, near Bergen, August 17, 1880)
When only nine, he played first violin in the Bergen Theatre orchestra, and was soloist with the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra. He lived for a while in Germany, then went to France. In 1832 in Paris he shared room with the moravian virtuoso violinist Heinrich Wilhelm Ernst who introduced Bull to the style of Paganini. By the time he reached his middle twenties he had won European recognition as a virtuoso. In 1836—37 he played 274 concerts in England and Ireland.

He was eventually successful in giving concerts, became famous, and made a fortune. He promoted Norwegian culture and often included variations on folk tunes in his concerts. He also was one of the main founders of the first theatre in which the actors spoke Norwegian, not Danish - Det Norske Theater in Bergen in 1850. This theater encouraged native drama and music and showcased Norwegian artists. From it, emerged a playwright who was destined to achieve lasting fame, Henrik Ibsen, whom Bull had selected as a writer and stage manager. It has been surmised that Ibsen's most famous character, Peer Gynt, was created with Ole Bull as the model. In the summer of 1858, Bull met the 15-year-old Edvard Grieg. Bull was a friend of the Grieg family, and encouraged Edvard's parents to send him to the conservatory in Liepzig. Bull's brother was married to Grieg's aunt. Bull was also a friend of Franz Liszt, and played with him several times.

The violinist was also an admirer of the United States and toured this country from 1843 to 1845, and his concerts were met with enthusiasm wherever he played. He visited the United States several times and played 5 concert tours with great success here as well as in Canada and Cuba. In the nineteenth century hundreds, of attempts were made to establish colonies in America that would become Utopias for the dispossessed workers of Europe and America. The fertile fields of America, its relative freedom, and the hopelessness of the situation in Europe, provided a perfect opportunity for such developments. Ole Bull became attracted by the then-current ideas of communal socialism.

He had great plans to build a community in America, and found an area having a topography reminiscent of his Norwegian homeland situated along Kettle Creek near the heart of the so-called Black Forest in Pennsylvania. In 1853, he purchased more than seventeen square miles of land and founded a colony, which was called New Norway. The land consisted of four communities: New Bergen, Oleana, New Norway, (where sixteen to twenty log cabins and a schoolhouse had been erected). and Valhalla. In Norse mythology Valhalla, or Royal Hall, was the place of Odin, the god of poetry, who received military heroes after they were slain in battle The high point of Valhalla Bull called Nordjenskald, which became the location of his unfinished castle.

Ole Bull later realized that the land deed left him and the other colonists little but the steep hillside woodland. Much of the prime agricultural land that the colonists had improved turned out to be within the tract that the former owner had reserved for himself. Later the railroad was established in the area, Making lumber a viable business due to the ease of transporting products to market. Unfortunately This was not available to the residents of New Norway. The majority of the colony eventually disbanded and moved west into Michigan and Wisconsin.

The village today is called Oleona, in Potter County. It flourishes nestled in the mountains at the intersection of routes 44 (Coudersport Turnpike) and 144 (Ole Bull Road). Ole Bull State Park in the Susquehannock State Forest is the original site chosen for Bull's colony. What is left of the unfinished Ole Bull Castle is frequently visited by hikers along a trail, on the side of a mountain with a beautiful view, and is maintained by the park.

In 2002, the 150th anniversary of the founding of Ole Bull's colony, a monument was erected in the park to honor Ole Bull. The monument was a gift from the citizens of Norway recognition of Ole Bull's talent, foresight and patriotism.

In Mammoth Cave in Kentucky, there is a room called Ole Bull's Concert Hall, because he actually gave performances there.
In Loring Park in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA, there is a
huge bronze statue memorializing Bull.
There is also a statue of him in Norway.

this report compiled from various sources including:

Oleana : The Ole Bull Colony' by Paul W Heimel
Wikipedia—Ole Borneman Bull
Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources
Pennsylvania Bureau of State Parks
Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission