old buildings and fences Sweden

Uppsala Cathedral began building in 1287, 118 meters tall that's more than a football field is long. There are buttresses supporting the buttresses supporting the gothic arch inside.

  The interior was exquisite, it made me feel very small and humble.  Uppsala was the center of pagan religions before Christianity was accepted.

 Skansen folk park: Sami camp of the far north.

Thatched roof buildings used to house livestock.

 Stone fences have always fascinated me, they used a rock to big to move as the base then alternated flat rocks with round stones. How many times did they handle each stone before they placed it? It is a dry stone fence because no mortar was used. I like the repetition and uniformity of the round stone and the gradation to smaller stones in a row. I like the contrast of the flat stones and the paths they make along the wall. I like the surprise of the larger stones in the wall and the nobody is going to move me attitude of the large stones on the top row.

Someone's dear husband hauled these flat stones so his dear wife had steps into the house and a cleaner floor.  The door is short and the ceilings are low not because people were shorter back then but to conserve on lumber. But then they used all this lumber for rail fences.?!?

I thought the rail fence was interesting too. The diagonal lines of the long logs are very peaceful, there are 7 vertical between the high point and the low point for each rail.  It has a very pleasant rhythm as it moves along the lane. No nails or screws or wires holding it together.

Store room for food--it was dug 2-3 feet below ground level cool enough for butter, cheese, eggs and berries.

Water heater,  and the oven behind which opened from the left end, chimney and fireplace in the room through the door, centrally located to heat the entire house. Notice the damper on the chimney below. Did they crawl on the roof to open and close the damper?

Another house from another part of Sweden probably the north because of the red color.  The red is a stain and a bi-product of copper mining so when it needs a fresh coat they just sweep the cobwebs and dirt off and apply another coat of stain no scraping!

Another rune stone. What do you suppose it says around the edge? What inspired that creature, there is an eye and and ear then a long neck and an arm with 2 fingers then the message and the tail intertwined with all the white loops which might be snakes, they have spade shaped heads and some have eyes. What does it all mean?

 Gamla Stan (old town) in Stockholm I just love the colors of the buildings. That is a cannon ball in the corner of the building and has been there for a couple centuries.
Ann