18Th Century Rural Architecture ROOTED in SWEDEN Guest Article
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no 8 2010-01 ROOTED IN SWEDEN Living in Swedeland USA 18th Century Rural Architecture Guest Article Emigration Conference | SwedGen Tour 2009 contents 18th Century Rural 3 Architecture - Skåne Emigration Conference - 7 “Letters to Sweden” Living in Swedeland USA 9 7 16 8 The Digital Race 13 Swedgen Tour 2009 14 Christmas as Celebrated 16 9 in my Childhood Swedish Genealogical 20 Society of Minnesota 3 firstly... …I would like to talk about the cur- rent status of genealogy. A while ago I spoke to a fellow genealogist who experiences problems in getting local government funding for genealogical societies and events. This person felt 20 that the cultural funding tended to fa- vour sports activities for the young, Along with genealogy comes inevita- ter at night long after the rest of the and that it might even be a question of bly a curiosity about how people lived family has gone to bed. At the same age discrimination since genealogy is and a general historical curiosity, not time it can be very social and also a regarded as an “old folks” activity. I about kings and queens and wars and team effort. You can save yourself a don’t know the full specifics or even revolutions, but about the little man. lot of work by connecting with other if this is the typical case, but I still To me, this history is equally excit- genealogists, by exchanging infor- felt like I had taken a blow to the sto- ing and more or less skipped during mation and tips of resources. Sure, mach. I had this naïve conviction that my school years. The genealogy mo- sometimes you feel like doing the family research was up and coming vement provides a wide base of grass digging yourself, but if you get the and that it was spreading like an Aus- root historians. Not necessarily aca- names and dates you can use the en- tralian bush fire across the land and demically trained, but certainly curi- ergy on what’s behind the names and all ages in the wake of the digital re- ous and engaged. And the output of dates. It’s the interaction between ge- volution. these, whether it’s a family tree or it’s nealogists and the spreading of local a book on local history, helps fill the history knowledge that we’re trying Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for sup- gaping holes of the curricular histori- to encourage and provide with Roo- porting sports activities for young cal education. ted in Sweden. And I hope you’ll find people; I am myself a product of the with this issue that we’re on the right mentality of team sports, practically Genealogy is very much a solitary course. being raised in the local soccer club. activity. It’s most strongly felt when But why exclude the one or the other? you’re stuck in front of your compu- Joachim Schönström 2 • rooted in Sweden no 8 • january 2010 18th Century Rural Architecture - Skåneo text and images: Niclas Kronroth translated by: Northern Skåne bole house (skiftesverk) Joachim Schönström One of our readers has picked up The preconditions... fertile as in the south. In the north on the opportunity to influence Skåne is a relatively small Swedish the hilly landscape continues and the content of Rooted in Sweden. province of about 4,000 sq miles. crosses over to woodlands, rocky This has resulted in our first re- But despite its small size it is very and barren. quest article. The request topic heterogeneous; the topography va- was Swedish vernacular architecture ries greatly between the different - types of houses in various parts of parts. The prospect of farming va- Sweden at different times. ries accordingly. The nature of the land and the soil has determined With the good will of the writer, where you settle, how you support this article is the first of at least yourself and how you organize so- th two, describing rural 18 century cially and the province can rough- architecture in different parts of ly be divide into the southern plain Sweden. The subject of this ar- area, the woodlands in the north ticle is Skåne, the southernmost and the transition area in between. province. Diverse in culture and landscape as it is, it deserves an chapter of its own. The southern part is characterized by vast plains perfectly suitable for To complete the image of rural li- cultivating of crops. In the central ving and the allmoge culture in 18th part of Skåne the plains turn into a century Skåne, the article starts hilly landscape with large areas of with a description of the precon- deciduous forest. The land is cul- ditions of the landscape, and a tivated, but it is strewn with rocks look on the village structure. and stones and the soil is not as january 2010 • rooted in Sweden no 8 • 3 Six thousand years ago Skåne was rest areas remain in the southern covered with forest. People hun- part of Skåne. ted and lived off the forest and its swedish class inhabitants. But as migrants arri- In the early 1700s Skåne, which “Allmoge” – ved in the province, bringing the until 1658 belonged to Denmark, rustic culture, peasantry, or skills of cultivation, the landscape, was a badly wounded province ra- common people the forms of living and the culture vished by years of war, destruction The allmoge culture is a common evolved. Early on the inhabitants and epidemics. Well, out of chaos used name, and still, it is not ea- discovered the vast resources of comes order, and this certainly fits sily explained. The word allmoge the fertile land of the south. Be- with the peasantry of the first two has also changed meaning at se- fore, people had followed the mig- decades of the century. It was from veral occasions throughout the ration patterns of the animals, but the chaos of the 17th century that years. The basic meaning of the the introduction of agriculture cre- Skåne leapt into a new era which word is people, or rather, group ated a more stabile existence. And would bring a rise in economy and of people. It was often linked it created the possibility and the the social life in the rustic culture. with rural population, which is need for a permanent settlement. Villages grew stronger and larger, logical since the great majority of The growth of population was a di- innovations in tools and system people lived in the countryside rect effect of this new stability, and helped make the production more until the 18th century. during the following thousands of efficient. th years people practically entirely During the 18 century, the me- cleared the southern part of Skåne How you took advantage of the aning of the word glided as pe- of forests in favour of farm land. land differed greatly between the ople started moving into towns different geographical areas of the and cities, and it was more and The constant disturbances with province. In the south they had more used to describe people in frequent wars in the province long since been growing several general, or the man in the street. during the 15 and 16 hundreds pieces of land at a time, mostly in a strongly contributed to the chan- three rotation manor; they farmed long tradition in the area, but did ging of the landscape; the few two fields and let the third one lie not produce any profit of sort. The woodland areas still remaining in fallow. In the north there was not woodland farmers could however the south were eradicated and the enough nutritious soil to farm the sell or trade products like logs, lumber was used in the production land in that fashion. Stock-farming charcoal and tar. By trading timber of war ships. Today, only few fo- was an equally important means of for seed, they managed the strai- supporting oneself. ned economy. Oak and beech tim- The transition area ber was in excess and the farmers was a mix between would take the logs to the towns the two; stock-far- and sell it. Outside the towns, saw- Woodlands ming was important mills were built to meet the needs and they farmed the for sawn timber. land in a two rotation way. In the transition area, stock-far- Transition area ming had a long tradition, and was In the woodlands in essential for the livelihood of the the north, living was farmers, who had during a long very much based on period of time optimized the bree- Plains the forest. The fields ding of cattle and horses. As a side were very small, and income they let southern farmers’ would only support cattle graze the large enclosures a small household. that were made on the fringe land Stock-farming has a of the villages. 4 • rooted in Sweden no 8 • january 2010 The village... ter village and the round village, of bole houses and half-timbered In the fertile lands of the south, both pretty similar. The houses house was actually rather similar. the first land reform took place as were gathered around the com- The difference was the material early as in the middle ages. The ef- mon ground, the between the po- fect was a re-allocation of the ara- church or along ”Contrary to previous les: planks in ble land within the boundaries of the village street theories, the prototype the bole houses the village. The idea was to gather in either perfect and clay in the the fields that were cultivated at circles (round vil- for house building half-timbered.