01. Built by the people, for the people
"Allmogen" are the people of old peasant society, and vernacular architecture is their farms, cottages, barns and sheds. It is built without architects, following local tradition and using what is close at hand: timber in forest country, half-timbering and clay on the southern plains, stone where there is stone.
Farm layouts differ between regions – from the closed, four-winged farms of Skåne to the large, open timber farms of Hälsingland. The red paint comes from the slag at the Falun copper mine and gradually spreads across the whole countryside.
As peasant society begins to disappear at the end of the 19th century, interest in preserving it awakens. Artur Hazelius founds Skansen in 1891, and vernacular houses become one of the most important models for National Romanticism.
02. How to spot it
- 1.Log or half-timbered houses according to regional tradition
- 2.Falu red paint with white corners and trim
- 3.Farms of several buildings around a yard
- 4.Steep gable roofs of turf, shingles, thatch or tile
- 5.Local details: painted doors, carved bargeboards
03. The giveaway
The farm layout. How the buildings sit in relation to each other – a closed square or an open cluster – tells you which province you are in.
Read the façade
- Steep gable roof
- The log corners
- Windows with glazing bars and white frames
- The painted door
04. Where to see it
- Skansen, Stockholmfounded 1891 by Artur Hazelius
- The decorated farmhouses of HälsinglandWorld Heritage since 2012
- Local heritage farms in almost every parish
05. Often confused with
National Romanticism. The vernacular houses are the original; National Romanticism is the architects' interpretation of them, around 1900.
Sources
- Nationalencyklopedin (ne.se)
- Swedish Wikipedia: "Hälsingegård", "Nationalromantik"