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The roundpole fence is a wooden
fence
A fence is a structure that encloses an area, typically outdoors, and is usually constructed from posts that are connected by boards, wire, rails or netting. A fence differs from a wall in not having a solid foundation along its whole length.
...
typical to the countryside in
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
(in Swedish: ''gärdesgård''),
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
(in Norwegian: ''skigard''),
Finland
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
(in Finnish: ''riukuaita'', ''risuaita'' or ''pistoaita'') and
Estonia
Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...
(in Estonian: ''roigasaed'' or ''teivasaed''). It is normally made from unbarked and unsplit youngish trees, mostly
spruce
A spruce is a tree of the genus ''Picea'' (), a genus of about 35 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal (taiga) regions of the Earth. ''Picea'' is the sole genus in the subfami ...
or
juniper
Junipers are coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Juniperus'' () of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on the taxonomy, between 50 and 67 species of junipers are widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere, from the Arcti ...
. Roundpole fences have traditionally been used as a means of fencing off animals rather than marking property boundaries.
The fence construction generally consists of 3 or 4 parts: uprights put together in pairs, round poles laid horizontally or diagonally between the two uprights, and binding cord usually made from young saplings - and sometimes also diagonal bracing. The fence is usually 1.5–2 metres tall. The fencing can also incorporate specially made stiles and gates. The fence requires an abundance of wood, which was never a problem in Scandinavia, as the trees generally came from the owners' own forests in the process of
thinning
Thinning is a term used in agricultural sciences to mean the removal of some plants, or parts of plants, to make room for the growth of others. Selective removal of parts of a plant such as branches, buds, or roots is typically known as pruning.
...
them out. The term ″roundpole fence" is somewhat misleading, as the rails between the pairs of uprights are usually split spruce logs. However, the upright poles are always round, young spruce trees with a diameter of 5 to 7 cm. For the diagonals, larger trees with a diameter up to 20 cm were split into four or eight rails of suitable dimensions. Very young saplings were used to bind the rails to the uprights, the idea being to utilize trees of different ages. In more recent times, rough sawn boards have also been used, preferably the outer boards of a log, with one curved side. The binding of saplings have also been replaced by steel wire.
[ Saturday, 24 December 2022 ]
The oldest known roundpole fence dates back to the
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...
. The oldest known
archeological find of a roundpole fence in Sweden was uncovered in
Leksand
Leksand () is a locality and the seat of Leksand Municipality in Dalarna County, Sweden, with 5,934 inhabitants in 2010.
Sport
Leksand is famous for the Leksands IF ice hockey team, who have won 4 Swedish Championships, although the team is curren ...
.
Gallery
File:Fence_from_Smaland.JPG, Wooden pole fence in Småland
Småland () is a historical province () in southern Sweden.
Småland borders Blekinge, Scania, Halland, Västergötland, Östergötland and the island Öland in the Baltic Sea. The name Småland literally means ''Small Lands''. The Latinized fo ...
, Sweden
File:Roundpole fence in Estonian Open Air Museum.jpg, Roundpole fence in Estonian Open Air Museum
The Estonian Open Air Museum ( Estonian: ''Eesti Vabaõhumuuseum'') is a life-sized reconstruction of an 18th-19th century rural/fishing village, which includes church, tavern, schoolhouse, several mills, a fire station, twelve farmyards and net ...
, Estonia
File:Gallen akkajakissa.jpg, Roundpole fence featured in a painting by Finnish painter Akseli Gallen-Kallela
Akseli Gallen-Kallela (26 April 1865 – 7 March 1931) was a Finnish painter who is best known for his illustrations of the ''Kalevala'', the Finnish national epic. His work is considered a very important aspect of the Finnish national ident ...
titled "Old woman and a cat", 1885
See also
*
Split-rail fence
A split-rail fence, log fence, or buck-and-rail fence (also historically known as a zigzag, worm, snake or snake-rail fence due to its meandering layout) is a type of fence constructed in the United States and Canada, and is made out of timber lo ...
* Coat-of-arms of
Gjerdrum
Gjerdrum () is a municipality in Akershus in Viken county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Romerike.
Gjerdrum borders the municipalities of Nannestad, Nittedal, and Ullensaker, and Lillestrøm. The administrative centre of the m ...
municipality, Norway
References
Korhonen, Teppo: Muuttuva maaseutu - historiallinen maatalous: Erilaisia aitatyyppejä.(in Finnish only)
External links
*
Fences
Architecture in Sweden
Architecture in Finland
Architecture in Norway
Architecture in Estonia
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