VARG VIKERNES Was a 'Family Man' Who Lived A Peaceful Life With His Wife And Children

NRK (Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation) has posted photos of the farm near the town of Salon-la-Tour, a commune in the Corrèze department in central France, where BURZUM mastermind Varg Vikernes (a.k.a. Count Grishnackh) and his wife were arrested yesterday morning (Tuesday, July 16) on suspicion of planning a "massacre." A video report can also be seen below.

Vikernes' neighbor Natalie Langlad told NRK that she was shocked to learn through media reports that five guns were found in the couple's home, including four rifles legally purchased by Varg's wife as a member of a rifle club.

"[Varg] went often wore military appearel," she said. "But the area here is known for hunting so it's not so unusual that he would go out wearing hunting clothes."

When Vikernes and his wife were arrested Tuesday morning, neighbors said they only heard the dogs barking and were otherwise unaware of what had happened.

Vikernes was described by his neighbors as a "family man" who lived a peaceful life with his wife and children.

"He seemed very nice and attentive towards the children," Langlad said.

The mayor of Salon-la-Tour told AFP that Vikernes had a year ago settled with his family in a rented house, away from the village.

"He doesn't speak French very well," Jean-Claude Chauffour said, adding that the family had three children and that Varg's wife was pregnant with her fourth.

"The wife said that she had bad memories from school, and she therefore did not want to send their oldest son there," Chauffour told NRK. "Instead, the son was being taught at home."

Varg was convicted in 1994 and sentenced to Norway's longest prison term of 21 years for the August 1993 murder of MAYHEM guitarist Oystein Aarseth (a.k.a. Euronymous) and for burning down three churches, including the original Holmenkollen Chapel next to the Holmenkollen Ski Jump in Oslo. He was released from prison in 2009 after serving 16 years of that sentence.