An hórreo is a granary built in wood (Iberia, Scandinavia and Switzerland) or stone (Iberia), raised from the ground by pillars ("pegollos" in Asturian, "esteos" in Galician, "abearriak" in Basque) ending in flat stones ("vira-ratos" in Galician, "mueles" or "tornarratas" in Asturian, or "zubiluzea" in Basque) to avoid the access of rodents. Ventilation is allowed by the grooves in its walls. In some areas, hórreos are known as hórreu, horru (Asturian), horriu (Leonese), hurriu (Cantabrian), hórreo, paneira, canastro, piorno, cabazo (Galician), espigueiro, canastro, caniço (Portuguese), garea, garaia, garaixea (Basque), orri (Catalan), stabbur (Norwegian), härbre or more precisely stolphärbre or stolpbod (Swedish), raccard ou regard (French)[1]
In the Iberian Peninsula, hórreos are mainly found in the Northwest (Galicia, Asturias and northern Portugal). There are two main types of hórreo, rectangular-shaped, the more extended, usually found in Galicia, northern Portugal and coastal areas of Asturias; and square-shaped hórreos from Asturias, León, western Cantabria and eastern Galicia. The oldest Spanish document containing an image of an hórreo is the Cantigas de Santa Maria by Alfonso X "El Sabio" (song CLXXXVII) from XII A.C. In this depiction, three rectangular hórreos of gothic style are illustrated. The longest hórreo in Galicia is located in Carnota, A Coruña and is 35 m long.
There are several types of Asturian hórreo, according to the characteristics of the roof (thatched, tiled, slate, pitched or double pitched...), the materials used for the pillars or the decoration. The oldest still standing date from the 15th century, and even nowadays they are built ex novo. There are an estimated 18,000 hórreos and paneras in Asturias, some are poorly preserved but there is a growing awareness from owners and authorities to maintain them in good shape.
Other similar granary structures include Asturian paneras (basically, big hórreos with more than four pillars), cabaceiras (galician round basketwork hórreo), espigueiros or canastros in northern Portugal, (the most famous concentration is located in Soajo), trojes or trojs in Castile or silos, and Balkan hambars.
The origin of the horreo is the horreum from the Roman Empire, and is an old technology that has nearly disappeared in the rest of the empire.
Härbren exist throughout Sweden, but the more hórreo-like härbren, raised from the ground by pillars, are only found in the central and northern part of the country. The church härbre (kyrkhärbret) in Älvdalen, Dalarna, built circa 1285, is one of the oldest surviving non-religious wooden buildings in Sweden.
