The Viking´s longhouses

The Vikings have mainly been ruling over Norway, Denmark and Sweden and lived in special houses, called longhouses. These houses had been approximately 13-18 m long and 3,5-7 m wide, depending on how wealthy the people living there were. The longhouses from the earlier times of the Viking Age, which means 400 – 600 AD, were two nave houses, one in the middle and one on each end of the building. The longhouses have been constructed out of wooden planks in a way called “laft”. Thereby the logs are put together horizontally, with moss in between. On the outside of these inner wood buildings were stone walls to keep it as warm as possible inside the house, as well as to protect the wooden walls from the wind and weather and make the domicile more stable. The roofs of the houses where exceptionally long and peaked, one has been even found with a 53 degree angle, and the walls were comparatively low. Moreover the roof has been covered by grass. The inside of the longhouses has been divided into different areas, but there was no real separation between animals and people to generate additional warmth. Nevertheless there was some kind of entrance and working place, fire place, living area and an area for the animals.

Beside the two nave houses, longhouses with three naves have been developed later on as an improvement to the older ones. They were constructed with two parallel rows of standing beams and thereby offered additional space and rooms. It now consisted of a storage room, different living quarters, an entrance area, a gathering room and again some space for the animals. Through the still remarkably high land long roof, there was one big room in the middle of the house and two smaller ones on each side. 

The largest longhouse has been found in 1983 in Borg, at the Lofoten Islands. It was 83 m long and 9 m high, but has been extended since its building process in 500 AD when it measured 57 m. The Vikings have been clever, since they built the house with the short side in the direction of the wind. People have been living there approximately until 950 AD. Today a big museum, the Lofotr Viking Museum, occupies the space right next to the debris´ of the original longhouse. The museum does not present a copy of the original longhouse, but has been designed by an architect since no one knows what the house once looked like. 

 

http://www.lofotr.no/novus/upload/tab1/Historien/.595x334/Kjell%20Ove%20Storvik-Borg-2873.jpg

Lofotr Viking Museum

Day 5, 03.12.2015

In one of our lectures we where talking about the old Viking longhouses and about the Lofotr Viking Museum.

The Lofotr Viking Museum is a historical museum based on a reconstruction and archaeological excavation of a Viking chieftain's village on the island of Vestvågøya in the Lofotenarchipelago in Nordland county, Norway. It is located in the small village of Borg, near Bøstad, in the municipality of Vestvågøy.

In 1983, archaeologists uncovered the Chieftain House at Borg, a large Viking Era building believed to have been already established around the year 500 AD. A joint Scandinavian research project was conducted at Borg from 1986 until 1989. Excavations revealed the largest building ever to be found from the Viking period in Norway. The foundation of the Chieftain House at Borg measured 83 metres long and 9 metres high. The seat at Borg is estimated to have been abandoned around AD 950.

I really liked this lecture because I am never getting tired of history. It is one of my favorite subjects!

The Lofotr Viking Museum

Picture source:

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c6/Borg_Vestv%C3%A5g%C3%B8y_LC0165.jpg

Gildeskål Church

Day 4, 01.12.2015

Our last trip was to the Gildeskål Church in the municipality of Gildeskål in Nordland county, Norway. The Gildeskål church is a parish church. It is located north of the village of Inndyr. The church is part of the Gildeskål parish in the Bodø deanery in the Diocese of Sør-Hålogaland.

In 1851, a new law was passed that said that all rural churches had to be able to fit at least 30% of the parish members in the church building. Since the old Gildeskål church was too small, a new church had to be built for the parish. It was decided that the new church would be built on the same site, just west of the old church. The new church was completed in 1881 and it seated about 750 people.

The landscape around the church site is untouched by recent development. Grave mounds, 

old stone boat landings and the old church path are among the cultural relics in the area. 

There is a magnificent view of the islands and shipping channels from the church hill.

Viking's longhouses

Vikings used to live in so called longhouses. This is a special way of building a house during their times. It is a very simple architecture but effective.

ground floor:

Longhouses were approximately 13-18 meters long and 3,5-7 meters wide. The longest one found was about 50-60 meters long.
People and animals lived together; there was no separation within the house.
a... entrance and working place
b... living room with a fireplace in the middle
c... stable for animals

The roof was made of stones, grass, and moss. Pillars were put up parallel to each side to keep the roof up (3). They were not centred in the middle; therefore, the middle part (2) was wider than the outside parts (1) which were narrow.  Right above the fireplace there was a hole in the roof to lead the smoke out of the house.


front view:

To each wall was put an additional one to keep the warmth inside the house - because the walls were pretty thin -, and to keep the whole building stabel.

The  Viking museum in Borg, Lofoten is built after an original longhouse on nearly the same place. The original house was discovered in 1983 and up until 1989 there had been a big research programme. This very house was 83 meters long and 9 meters high.


(c) http://openarchaeology.info/institutional-members/lofotr-viking-museum-no

Gildeskål Church

On our third week of the course, we visited the Gildeskål church in Gildeskål. This place is a Norwegian municipality with 2039 inhabitants. There are two churches. One from 1881 and the other one from 1130. The older church is one of the most important stone church in northern Norway. The church has been completely destroyed because of fire in 1711. Therefore the church had to be rebuild again completely. In 1851, a new law came into force. This said that a seat in the church should be present for at least 30% of the parishioners. Consequently, the church had to be enlarged – which was in 1881 completed. The church stands very secluded, next to the coast. The reason is that the sailors could easily reach the church by sea in those days. When we went into the church, the landscape paintings struck me, which are at the doors of the pews.

Before the pews are wooden beams mounted. These were the seats for the poor people.

The rear two pews were very uncomfortable and tightly designed. These were for the Sami people, who lived in a nearby town. 

It was allowed that man and women may sit mixed in the church, because the church was the only way to get to know the future wife or husband – the only way of socialization. Nowadays, every summer are approximately 2 to 3 weddings in the church. Inside the church one can still find the old wedding chairs. But also the new wedding chairs, which were used nowadays.

In the church is an 150 year old organ. This old church is a beautiful example how one should maintain cultural heritage of the past and that one should invest in restoration processes. Currently, little things at the church were renewed. Only if one appreciate and maintain those treasures of the past, one can inform the new generations about the past.

Gildeskal church

Gildeskal translated means "gathering house" - that what this place was befor there was a church. It is supposed that it has always been a sacred place. Even the Vikings have had a gathering place there to praise their gods.
Norway was christened in 1030, and so this Viking's sacred place became a catholic one. 
Now this church is one of the last stone churches in northern Norway. It was built in the middle of the 1100s. The walls are made of marble, maybe even a local one because there is an marble area nearby.


The church is dedicated to Saint Thomas. The piece of cloth on the alter says: "Praiy for us, Saint Thomas!"
He is also the fishermen's saint and it may be a connection to Thomas from Canterbury.
 

A very special appearance are the "cages" in the church. These were reservated for the rich people of this area, to sit away from the commen people. There are either benches or chairs to sit inside.  At the back of the church there is a baptising cage, for the newborns; they were not allowed to enter the community before they were baptised.

Another  - for me - unknown object is the hour glass on the alter. This was ment for the minister to see how long he can speak in his speech. People were complaining because there were some ministers who were "famous" for talking for ages.

6. Petter Dass museum

 Petter Dass (*1647 - †1707) was big personality in northern Norway. He was priest (and quite enlightened person in that time) and most famous like a poet. He created songs from catechism, so it was easier for people to learn them.

Museum of Petter Dass is directly opposite to the Alstahaug church where he served as a priest. Building of museum was opened in 2007 and it is really interesting piece of art.

 

interior of museum (1st floor)

 The building is set into a rock and it perfectly coinciding with the surroundings. Interior made an impression on me, too. Actually I felt same like in Knut Hamsun center. Lines are narrow but
unsynchronized. Variability of space is playful, colours are more natural. When you are inside, you are enjoying observing. Information are provided in norwegian but also in english. I find this museum like really interesting and nice one. Furthermore there is library in second floor and projection room on the ground floor - also cafe. I think this place calls you to be creative and enjoy your time here. So it is really great for teachers and schools to connect this place with "learning by doing".

Petter Dass museum

Alstahaug church

Gildeskål

Gildeskål- old and new

The oldest church was built in 1130 or in the middle of the 11th century.  It is built from local marble and the walls in the entrance are 1,6 metres thick. The church was burned down in 1711 because a lightning hit the tower.
The little red hut, which you can see in the picture is the entrance hall. In there everyone had to put off his/her weapons. Because weapons were not allowed in the church.

baptise cave

Within the church rich people were sitting in a box to be separated from the mainaudience. Also student were allowed to sit there - these were mostly the sons of the rich people. Now those boxes are in barock style - although they were not in fashion anymore in the 17th century, you can still see them in this church. In this church are quite many of those boxes. One in the front, two in the back and on the stage, where the organ is placed. These boxes and some of the benches were private property, so someone payed for it. If those people were not able to come to the church no one was sitting there, because it was kind of prohibited. In former times one of these boxes was used for baptising the young children. This box is placed as far away from the altar as possible. Because children weren´t part of the community until they were baptised. Also the mother wasn´t allowed to go immediately after birth to church, she had to wait some time.

Young people were almost sitting in the same place and girls and boys were not separated. So the church was kind of social place to get to know each other and meet. 
The bench at the very end of the church was really narrow and only people from the mountain had to sit there - kind of separation (they didn´t like the people from the mountains too much). Most of those people were Samis. People who were not able to come to the church had to pay a fee.

The church was also a really important place for farmers, some of them had their own benches inside and the farmers used the church as meeting point. Gildeskal was kind of community insurance. If something bad happened to a farm, for example it burned down, the farmers met there and find a solution how to help the other farmer. People who were working at a farm where mostly just working for getting food and living there. The farmer had to take care and pay for the funeral, if one of his workers died.

natural paintings

drawings from 1711 and 1754

Gottfried Ezekiel was the painter of the drawings in 1711 and 1754 - the first one is the marble structure on the benches and the second one are the cave drawings. In the 18th century the natural paintings on some of the benches were drawn. In former times only the caves of the rich people were coloured the rest of the church was only wood without any colour.

wedding chair with vowel

old wedding chairs

The wedding chairs were from different sizes in former times. The broom´s chair was higher in comparison with the bride´s chair. The reason for that was that the bride had to listen to what the broom is saying. Now the chairs are equal and you can find the wedding vowels on the back of the chairs. In this church are only some weddings during summer.


The holy part of the Church (area around the altar) was only for the priest, which means that only the priest was allowed to be there. Now you can walk around the altar and get the bread there. Inside the altar is a relic, which no one touched since the altar was built. The altarcloth says:

"Ora pro nobis" - Saint Thomas



This means "Pray for us". Saint Thomas is the Saint of fishermen, that`s the reason why he is mentioned on the altarcloth. You can also find hourglasses on the altar. These were for the priest`s speech. So everyone could see how much time is left. But some of the priests just turned the hourglass again, if they wanted to say something else.

altar

The altarpiece/ altarwindow behind the altar is quite small. there would be another huge one, but it was too big for the old church, so they placed it in the new one. Before the window, which you can see on the Picture, there was a more simple one - only with a cross on it.
This window is now placed in the entrance.




In front of the altar on a part of the ceiling you can find a picture, which is quite unusual. During the Second World War the people living near the church tried to hide every important and valuable thing in the church. This specific picture was hidden in a barn with hay. When the people found it the restored it and put it up there.


All in all the restauration of the church took a really long time. The people didn`t care that much about the old church. They even used it for their animals to have a warm Place for them.

Today a golden plate from Russia is used for the holy water, which is needed for the process of baptising. This plate shows Katharina the Great. They scientists are quite sure that it must be Katharina the Great because of the nose (really big nose).

baptistry

If you have an insight into the church you can find one of the priests`s casooks. This priest from the 17th century must have been a really huge one. We also heard a story about him, ehich I want to tell you now:
This priest had two sons. One day, when their father was celebrating a mass, they played a trick on him. They removed the fur of a dog, who was standing in front of the church and sent him afterwards inside. Because of this trick the whole Family got banned. And it is said that since that time the family suffered from many illnesses. One of the sons died and the other one tried to apologize by giving a ship to the church. But he fell Down a Cliff and died. 100 years later a woman of this family came to the church`s priest and asked him to remove the bann. So they gathered 100 people in the church and the priest blessed them. - In this spring the family got unusually many calfs.

priestscloth

ship - present from the son

The new church is in gothic style and is held in the national colours (blue/red and white). Which can also be found on the ceiling above the altar.

church from outside

inside

altar plus altarpiece - ceiling with national colours

5. Gildeskål kirke

 Gildeskål kirke was built around year 1130. But people think that altar is much more older, it was on the same place from earlier times, probably in older, wood church.
 The church is L-shaped, second part of church is newer, built after fire in 1711. Interior is from 1760 and main artwork are from years 1711 and 1754 made by German artist Gottfried Ezechiel. Interesting are preserved galleries and boxes which were private for rich people to be separated from the poor people. Tour guide told us, that during 18. century when many churches were reconstructed people saw this boxes old-fashioned, so they burnt them. That is why it is rare to see it nowadays despite it was quite common in past times. If you were Sami people or not from local community, you had uncomfortable seats in the back of the church. And there were no seats for really poor people (in norwegian legt), who did not own a land or house, they were working on another farm just for accommodation and food.
In back of new part is also "baptise box". Interesting are new and old wedding chairs. The old one - for woman was chair lower, which symbolizes that woman was subordinate to men. Nowadays chairs are same size and in the same level (interesting symbol of equality of rights). Also there is old golden plate which originally comes from Russia, because in past times russian ships came to Norway because of trade.

Old part of church

On the left is old part and on the right new one, built after fire in 1711

Golden plate originally from Russia

Altar

On the left new wedding chairs, on the right old one - left is lower for bride and second one, higher for groom

 Finally I want to mention the most interesting facts (in my opinion most interesting one :) ).
First one is that in each church we visited here in Norway you can find a ship that is heading east. That shows how is this country connected with sea - sea gives food and in the same time it is a way for trade, travelling.
Secondly I find interesting information, that this church and Bodin church are unusually more far away from the sea. This fact is actually connected with Vikings and their sacred places. I find really interesting, that people in old times used to live with Viking's slowly took over their holy places. Actually altar from this church is supposed to be on place, which had sacred importance for Vikings.

Gildeskål Church

This 12th century medieval stone church can look back on a long history full of social gatherings, myths and tragedies. Built in about 1150 a.d. (approximately 150 years after the Christianisation in whole Norway), it is a part of Bodø’s “Nordlandsmuseet”, where qualified staff give tours for interested visitors through the church and the surrounding landscape. With their courage, they help the church stay a cultural heritage which must be retained throughout the centuries. 

The word “Gildeskål“ in earlier times was translated as „festivity-house“, because people all around the county came together (as a duty of any true believer) in these rare occasions. Here, men and women were allowed to sit together in the upper benches in the back, where they eventually might find a potential future marriage partner. Nevertheless, even in the house of god not every person was considered to be equal. People of different social ranks used different entries into the building. The average man used an ordinary door in the back, whereas wealthy citizens used an extra entry with roofing, where they could / were supposed to leave their weapons during church service. Especially those wooden boxes are noticeable, here were the noble ones situated, the family of the pastor (living in a house nearby) as well as landlords and the altar boys. In the back, you can find two boxes: one for baptizing, and one for a loyal church-visitor, whose portrait can be seen nowadays inside this box. After his death (probably a great loss for the parish), his coffin was buried beneath his former seating place to worship his position in the church, and only a guarding policeman was allowed to take his place.  In the front of the church, you can also find the “church boat” (very common in Norway) hanging from the ceiling, symbolically demonstrating that “we are all sitting in the same boat”, albeit not being the case. Coming to church as an obligation doesn’t mean that everyone came voluntarily, and there had been reserved (and uncomfortable) benches for Sami and Beiarn-people. The poorest ones (often meaning: not owning a farm) had to cower on steps near the ground.

There are also some architectonic details that shouldn’t be forgotten. The used marble is a rare one, coming directly from the region. Furthermore, a huge picture thematises the Christian revelation: all the world’s kings are heading towards the one and only Lord. This picture was found in a barn outside of Tromø due to the fact that people feared the church could be bombed during the 2^nd World War and therefore protected important art pieces. In the church, you can find old and new art (such as from Gottfried Ezechiel), because of a huge fire in the year 1711. The whole interior burned down, so everything had to be renewed. The groundplan’s original size was extended to an “L”-form. This year, the organ has its 150 years anniversary. The benches, boxes and ornaments had been reconstructed as they did look like in earlier times, not representing the current “fashion”. So the interior is one from the Baroque era, but the altar is kept pretty plain and simple. The saying on the colourful carpet from around 1450 can be translated to “Pray for us, St. Thomas” and might be traced back to holy Thomas Becket (archbishop of Canterbury), who was killed in 1170. His story spread around whole Europe, and he later on became saint of the fishermen. The interesting story behind this man is explained online, e.g. on http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/becket.htm (01.12.2015).