Vernacular architecture in Norway

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Vernacular architecture in Norway covers about 4,000 years of archeological, literary, and preserved structures. Within the history of Norwegian architecture, vernacular traditions form a distinct and pervasive influence that persists to this day.

Contents 1 Early origins 2 Stave, palisade, and log building 3 Rural and maritime communities 4 The Formation of Towns 5 Modern vernacular architecture

[edit] Early origins

Archeological evidence in Norway indicates that Nordic Bronze Age and Iron Age settlements were commonly large, communal, and multipurpose buildings. These buildings were not particularly durable; they were supported by posts in the ground that rotted rotted in the course of a few decades. Roofs were thatched and walls braided with plaster.

Over time, the buildings became more elaborate, notably with internal pillars and increasingly sophisticated structural practices. Large farms took the form of small communities, with several buildings, including a hall of assembly. These houses eventually could be as much as 90 meters long and 7 meters wide. These had central open hearths with vents in the roof above.

[edit] Stave, palisade, and log building

The method of wood stave construction evolved over several hundred years in Norway, reaching their apex with the stave churches in the 1200s in Norway and into the 1300s in Iceland.

Stave construction lent itself well to building the earlier large, multipurpose houses.

[edit] Rural and maritime communities

[edit] The Formation of Towns

[edit] Modern vernacular architecture