Decorated Farmhouses of Hälsingland - Sweden

Last update for today.

Thanks to the Elvas cards that i bought 2 weeks ago, i'm getting new Unesco sites for my collection. This one, sent by Merja, is from Sweden and it was added to the World Heritage Site list this year.

Seven timber houses are listed in this site located in the east of Sweden, representing the zenith of a regional timber building tradition that dates back to the Middle Ages. They reflect the prosperity of independent farmers who in the 19th century used their wealth to build substantial new homes with elaborately decorated ancillary houses or suites of rooms reserved for festivities. The paintings represent a fusion of folk art with the styles favoured by the landed gentry of the time, including Baroque and Rococo. Decorated by painters, including known and unknown itinerant artists, the listed properties represent the final flowering of a long cultural tradition. - in: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1282/

Photo by Jakob Dahlström

On the back of the card: Hälsingland farmers often used carved woodwork and decorative painting to create an impressive entrance to their farmhouses. Though inspiration was sometimes drawn from other houses, it was important to put an individual stamp on your own entrance. For many Swedes today, these beautiful entrance porches symbolize the whole of Hälsingland. This porch was built in the 1850's.