Gammelstad Church Town ( sv, Gammelstads kyrkstad) is a

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

situated in Gammelstaden near the city of Luleå, Sweden, at the northern end of the Gulf of Bothnia. It is the best preserved example of a type of town that was once widespread throughout northern

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Swe ...

. As Church Village of Gammelstad, Luleå, it was listed as a World Heritage Site in 1996. The town is located about 10 kilometers upstream the

Lule River Lule River ( smj, Julevädno, sv, Lule älv, ''Luleälven'') is a major river in Sweden, rising in northern Sweden and flowing southeast for before reaching the Gulf of Bothnia at Luleå. It is the second longest river by watershed area or length ...

. At its centre is the 15th-century Nederluleå Church surrounded by 424 wood-built houses. The houses were only used on Sundays and during religious festivals to accommodate worshipers from the surrounding countryside who could not return home the same day because of the distance and difficult traveling conditions. Because the buildings are built from timber, regular maintenance is required to prevent rot; surveys have been carried out to document the extent of existing rotting, and snow is cleared regularly during the winter.

History

The Gammelstad Church Town began as a trading settlement, and became the focus of religious observances for farming communities in the region. Gammelstad is an exceptionally well preserved example of a Scandinavian church town. Such settlements are unique, because they were shaped by the

religious Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatur ...

and

social needs Maslow's hierarchy of needs is an idea in psychology proposed by American psychologist Abraham Maslow in his 1943 paper "A Theory of Human Motivation" in the journal '' Psychological Review''. Maslow subsequently extended the idea to include his ...

of a regions inhabitants, rather than by

economic An economy is an area of the production, distribution and trade, as well as consumption of goods and services. In general, it is defined as a social domain that emphasize the practices, discourses, and material expressions associated with the ...

and

geographic Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and ...

forces. The numerous wooden houses constructed around the church were only used on Sundays, and in conjunction with

religious festival A religious festival is a time of special importance marked by adherents to that religion. Religious festivals are commonly celebrated on recurring cycles in a calendar year or lunar calendar. The science of religious rites and festivals is known ...

s as overnight housing for

worship Worship is an act of religious devotion usually directed towards a deity. It may involve one or more of activities such as veneration, adoration, praise, and praying. For many, worship is not about an emotion, it is more about a recogniti ...

pers from the surrounding countryside, whose journeys involved travelling long distances in a harsh natural environment. Gammelstad's development into a church town instead of a mercantile town is a direct result of natural land upheaval which rendered the town harbor unusable by the 17th century, forcing citizens to relocate the community's commercial centre. The new settlement took the name of Luleå, while the earlier church site was renamed Gammelstad (Old Town). The relocation of the commercial centre preserved the unique settlement of Gammelstad, leaving it untouched by the later 19th-century industrialization of the region. Gammelstad's layout has been preserved in its entirety. The

town plan Urban planning, also known as town planning, city planning, regional planning, or rural planning, is a technical and political process that is focused on the development and design of land use and the built environment, including air, water, ...

grew organically over several centuries, consisting of radial approaches to the church, and roads circling the town centre along the sides of the hill. A wall with gates was built around the church, however the wall currently in place is a

reconstruction Reconstruction may refer to: Politics, history, and sociology *Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company *'' Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Unio ...

. Development halted after the middle of the 17th century. In the modern day, very few Scandinavian church town settlements remain, and Gammelstad is the best preserved example of this form of settlement, and is therefore protected by

Buildings

There are a total of 520 buildings within the Gammelstad Church Town

UNESCO World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...

. These buildings include 404 church cottages divided into about 552 separate chambers, and 116 other buildings. Church cottages which served as short-term housing for

pers are juxtaposed with larger, more conventional houses for the officials and merchants who lived permanently in the settlement. Both types of housing surround the late 15th-century church, the district's only stone building, whose size reflects the prosperity of the region. Other notable buildings include the Chapel of Bethel, the Cottage of the Separatists, the Parish House, the Tithe Barn, the Mayor's Residence, the Captain's Residence, and the Guest House.

Gallery

Gammelstad_Gammelstad_04.JPG, Gammelstad church town near Lulea Gammelstad_b.jpg, World Heritage Site Gammelstad near Luleå Gammelstad-town-00.JPG, Gammelstad town map hoarding at the entrance Gammelstads_kyrkstad.jpg, Gammelstad town map Gammelstad-town-12.JPG Gammelstad Gammelstad 13.JPG Gammelstad Gammelstad 21.JPG

References

External links

Official site

UNESCO description
World Heritage Sites in Sweden Museums in Norrbotten County Open-air museums in Sweden {{Sweden-museum-stub de:Gammelstad#Gammelstads kyrkstad eo:Gammelstad#Gammelstads kyrkstad