Norse

Norsemen

Norsemen is used to refer to the group of people as a whole who spoke what is now called the Old Norse language belonging to the North Germanic branch of Indo-European languages, especially Norwegian, Icelandic, Faroese, Swedish and Danish in their earlier forms.The meaning of Norseman was "people...

 architecture

Architecture

Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...

was a way buildings were designed in Scandinavia

Scandinavia

Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...

 before and during medieval times (the 1st through the 16th century). The major aspects of Norse architecture are Boathouse

Boathouse

A boathouse is a building especially designed for the storage of boats, normally smaller craft for sports or leisure use. These are typically located on open water, such as on a river. Often the boats stored are rowing boats...

s, religious buildings (before and after Christians arrived in the area), and general buildings (both in cities and outside of them).

Boating houses

Boathouses are the buildings used to hold Viking

Viking

The term Viking is customarily used to refer to the Norse explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided, traded, explored and settled in wide areas of Europe, Asia and the North Atlantic islands from the late 8th to the mid-11th century.These Norsemen used their famed longships to...

 Ships during the winter

Winter

Winter is the coldest season of the year in temperate climates, between autumn and spring. At the winter solstice, the days are shortest and the nights are longest, with days lengthening as the season progresses after the solstice.-Meteorology:...

 and any time they could not sail. They were usually built slightly back from the waterline. They were dug into the ground as well as built up. They had to be extremely long because the Viking Ships could be 25 meters long or longer. The walls were made of wood with stones piled up at the base. Each held one ship only, but many boathouses could be built next to each other if multiple ships had to be housed.

Viking ring fortress

Trelleborg is a collective name for six Viking Age circular forts, located in Denmark and the southern part of modern Sweden. Five of them have been dated to the reign of the Harold Bluetooth of Denmark (died 986). All trelleborgs have a strictly circular shape. This structure may also be (partially) encircled by an advanced rampart but this part of the structure is not necessarily circular.

Religious buildings

Ritual houses

Ritual Houses were the religious buildings before Christians came to Scandinavia. Early ritual houses were simple wooden buildings not much different from other buildings. Ritual houses were a place to display the weapons of defeated enemies. But as time went on, they got more complex. They became imitations of churches. They often had multi - layer roofs with decorations on the peaks. The entrances were also ornamented with decorated columns. Most rituals (slaughtered and burnt animal sacrifices) took place outside, so the majority of the decorations were on the outside.

Stave churches

Stave church

Stave church

A stave church is a medieval wooden church with a post and beam construction related to timber framing. The wall frames are filled with vertical planks. The load-bearing posts have lent their name to the building technique...

es used for Christian gatherings in the Norse region because many Norse had been converted. The roofs were often multi-layered, and they usually had a tower or spire in the middle of the highest layer of the roof. They were built of wood, and had stone walls around the base. From the outside, they look like more complex forms of the Ritual Houses. But the inside was highly decorated with intricate designs. Most of these designs depict Jesus, a cross, or the disciples.

Countryside

These buildings were built of wood, usually logs similar to “Lincoln Logs

Lincoln Logs

Lincoln Logs is the name of a children's toy consisting of notched miniature logs, used to build miniature forts and buildings. They were invented by John L. Wright, son of the architect Frank Lloyd Wright...

" or log - cabin style. The roofs were covered in dirt to keep the heat inside the house, and grass was planted in the dirt on the roof to keep it from eroding away. These buildings were for farming the rough steep fjords. The buildings for farms were split in to two parts, Innhus and Uthus. The Innhus was for food storage, sleeping and living. The Uthus were the buildings for animals, tools and animal fodder

Fodder

Fodder or animal feed is any agricultural foodstuff used specifically to feed domesticated livestock such as cattle, goats, sheep, horses, chickens and pigs. Most animal feed is from plants but some is of animal origin...

 (animal food), in other words,the Uthus were the barns and silos.

Viking Longhouse

Throughout the Norse lands, people lived in longhouses (langhús), which were typically 5 to 7 meters wide (16 to 23 feet) and anywhere from 15 to 75 meters long (50 to 250 feet), depending on the wealth and social position of the owner. In much of the Norse region, the longhouses were built around wooden frames on simple stone footings. Walls were constructed of planks, of logs, or of wattle and daub.

Icelandic turf houses

Icelandic turf houses

The Icelandic turf house was the product of a difficult climate, offering superior insulation compared to buildings solely made of wood or stone, and the relative difficulty in obtaining other construction materials in sufficient quantities....

The common Icelandic turf house would have a large foundation made of flat stones; upon this was built a wooden frame which would hold the load of the turf. The turf would then be fitted around the frame in blocks often with a second layer, or in the more fashionable herringbone style. The only external wood would be the doorway which would often be decorative; the doorway would lead in to the hall which would commonly have a great fire. Another interesting aspect of the Icelandic turf house was the introduction of attached toilets, which were communal, and the act of going to the attached toilet was often done in large groups. The floor of a turf house could be covered with wood, stone or earth depending on the purpose of the building.

Oslo

Until 1624, Oslo

Oslo

Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...

 was like any other Norse town (many wooden buildings together used for varying purposes) , but in 1624, a fire burned down all of Oslo. Because of the fires, the King Christian IV moved Oslo west and ordered that all buildings in the city be built of stone or brick to prevent fires. Also to prevent fires, the streets were wide and met at right angles. After a time, the King allowed the people to “build half-timbered structures," which has the timber frame visible on both the inside and the outside of the building.