![]() The Swedish and Scandinavian roof constructions also have several features that are not otherwise found in Europe. It is stated in the survey that the oldest preserved roof constructions must be described and understood in an international context, just like the first stone churches. The in-depth inventories make it clear that early medieval trusses in Sweden are variants of types that have been found spread over large parts of Europe during the same time period. It is mostly in the southern and central parts of the country that larger clusters of Romanesque stone churches with medieval roofs are preserved. Compared with other countries in Western Europe, the number of early medieval trusses in Sweden is relatively large. It has long been known that there are many well-preserved trusses from the 12th century in Sweden. Alongside cultural history and building archeology, the relatively new field of craft science proved to be an important perspective in the research. The approach was also more interdisciplinary compared to earlier work, involving craftsmen, antiquarians, art historians, archaeologists, architects, historians and engineers (figure 1). The project unearthed a large number of new examples thanks to thorough knowledge of traditional wooden building techniques and a systematic method for documentation. The investigations compiled more than six hundred, more or less, preserved timber structures in church buildings or belfries in Sweden. These projects however, more than doubled the number of documented, medieval timber structures. There was solid knowledge and research on the richly preserved medieval church art and church buildings to base the studies on, so one could easily have thought that nothing new would emerge. Inventories and documentations of medieval roofs have been carried out in about half of the thirteen Swedish dioceses since 2010. ![]() The Craft Laboratory at the University of Gothenburg has been commissioned by the Church of Sweden at the national level to compile the diocesan findings, which are the basis for this article. Several studies of roof structures have been carried out by the dioceses, giving a new overview and substantially adding new knowledge of the topic. The state compensates the Church of Sweden financially for managing this cultural heritage and the funds can partly be used for inventories or surveys that improve the conditions for preservation. The Church of Sweden, through its parishes, manages around 3000 church buildings protected by the Heritage Act.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |