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 ...

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

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 {{agri-stub

Gallery

See also

References

External links