The architecture of Norway has evolved in response to changing economic conditions, technological advances, demographic fluctuations and cultural shifts. While outside architectural influences are apparent in much of Norwegian architecture, they have often been adapted to meet Norwegian climatic conditions, including: harsh winters, high winds and, in coastal areas, salt spray.
Norway's architectural trends are also seen to parallel political and societal changes in Norway over the centuries. Prior to the Viking Age, wooden structures developed into a sophisticated craft evident in the elegant and effective construction of the Viking longships. Following that, the ascent of Christianity introduced Romanesque architecture in cathedrals and churches, with characteristically slightly pointed arches, barrel vaults, cruciform piers supporting vaults, and groin vaults; in large part as a result of religious influence from England.
During the Middle Ages, the geography dictated a dispersed economy and population. As a result, the traditional Norwegian farm culture remained strong, and Norway differed from most European countries in never adopting feudalism. This, combined with the ready availability of wood as a building material, ensured that relatively few examples of the Baroque, Renaissance, and Rococo architecture styles so often built by the ruling classes elsewhere in Europe, were constructed in Norway.
Instead, these factors resulted in distinctive traditions in Norwegian vernacular architecture, which have been preserved in existing farms in the multiple Norwegian open-air museums that showcase buildings from the Middle Ages through to the 19th century; prominent examples include the Norwegian Museum of Cultural History in Oslo and Maihaugen in Lillehammer, as well as extant buildings still in service on farms such as those in the Heidal valley.
In the 20th century, Norwegian architecture has been characterized by its connection with Norwegian social policy on the one hand, and innovation on the other. Norwegian architects have been recognized for their work, both within Norway—where architecture has been considered an expression of social policy—and outside Norway, in several innovative projects.
General features
Construction in Norway has always been characterized by the need to shelter people, animals, and property from harsh weather, including predictably cold winters and frost, heavy precipitation in certain areas, wind and storms; and to make the most of scarce building resources. Until modern times, transportation infrastructure was also primitive, and builders largely had to rely on locally available materials.
History Prehistoric times Thanks to new digging methods like topsoil excavation, archeologists have been able to further uncover the remains or foundations of 400 prehistoric houses that were previously hidden beneath the ground. Prior to this only 200 sites were immediately visible from the surface layer. Throughout the 20th century, Scandinavian archeologists have also been attempting to reconstruct prehistoric houses. The largest reconstruction project in Norway is the Bronze Age settlement at Forsand in Ryfylke and the Iron Age farm at Ullandhaug close by Stavanger. There's also the rebuild of the large chieftain house from the Viking age at Borg in Lofoten.
Most of our archeological material derives from surveys done in the 20th century, and excavations done in major cities the past 25 years [as of 2003], including other archeological surveys from the 80s and 90s.
The oldest surviving traces of construction in Norway dates back to about 9000 BC, in mountainous regions near Store Myrvatn in contemporary Rogaland, where excavations have found portable dwellings most likely kept by nomadic reindeer hunters. Traces of similar albeit younger tents have also been found other places along the western coast: Kollsnes in Øygarden Municipality in Vestland county; at Slettnes, Mortensnes (near Nesseby), and Sørøy in Finnmark county; and one dating back to around 6500 BC at Fosenstraumen near Radøy in Vestland. Stone age hunters must have used such simple tent and turf hut constructions, which in principle could have been similar to those still in use by Sámi nomads, with straight or hook-formed rods. The oldest turf hut had an approximately circle shaped floor plan and was built with two sets of hook latches (rafters that intersect at the roof ridge) which forms roof and walls as one element. For materials they probably used hides and wooden poles.
With time, such tents became semi-permanent through the introduction of a simple foundation, allowing people to stay in one place for longer parts of the year. These "houses" have a diameter of and covers an area of , and were found as oval pits that had been cleared for stones. In the centre of the building, there could well have been a fireplace, and a part of the floor could have been covered by a platform on which they could sleep on top of. They were also partly dug into the earth with external ramparts made of earth and stone. Traces of these constructions can be found along the whole coast, but especially in the north: Leksa and Flatanger in Trøndelag and Mortensnes in Finnmark. The most notable of these is located in the Vegaøyan archipelago, an area that is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
There have been a number of instances where several houses have been found together in a cluster. This suggests that multiple family groups that's been living together in the same place. On Vega, such houses were already in use by 7000 BC, and they were still in use 5000 years later, in the transition from the Stone age into the Bronze Age around 1800 BC. At this point, the houses became larger and they gained a rectangular form, covering an area of , as demonstrated at Gressbakken in Nesseby Municipality in Finnmark. Excavations have revealed that the inner walls were protected by thick ramparts of stone and peat, and there is evidence of several entrances through this rampart-wall. The roof construction of these buildings is uncertain, however. It is difficult to conclude whether the rafts rested on the ramparts or on top of posts. Since it is not uncommon to find several fireplaces along the mid axis of the house, it is deduced that multiple families stayed collectively at these larger houses.
The first permanent dwellings were probably built between 3000 and 2000 BC, with the introduction of agriculture to Norway. Available evidence indicates that wood was the most used building material for these structures. Iron Age dwellings typically combined shelter for animals and humans in long houses in order to preserve heat. Remains of structures from the Stone Age through the Bronze Age and the Iron Age have been excavated at Forsand in Ryfylke, near Stavanger and several other locations. Most prehistoric longhouses had pairs of roof-bearing posts dividing the interior into three naves, and walls of palisades, wattle and daub or turf. Similar buildings have been excavated all over Northwestern Europe.
Viking and medieval eras Two distinctive timber building traditions found their confluence in Norwegian architecture. One was the practice of log building with horizontal logs notched at the corners, a technique thought to have been imported from the peoples to the east of Scandinavia. The other was the stave building tradition (typically found in stave churches), possibly based on improvements on the prehistoric longhouses that had roof-bearing posts dug into the ground. Although there is scant archaeological evidence of actual buildings from the earliest permanent structures, finds of Viking ships (e.g., the Oseberg ship) suggest significant mastery of woodworking and engineering. In the Lofoten archipelago in Northern Norway, a Viking chieftain's holding has been reconstructed at the Lofotr Viking Museum.
Not counting the 28 remaining stave churches, at least 250 wooden houses predating the Black Death in 1350 are preserved more or less intact in Norway. Most of these are log houses, some with added stave-built galleries or porches.
As the political power in Norway was consolidated and had to contend with external threats, larger structures were built in accordance with military technology at the time. Fortresses, bridges, and ultimately churches and manors were built with stone and masonry. These structures followed the European styles of their time.
Stave churches
Possibly more than 1000 stave churches were built in Norway during the Middle Ages, most of them during the 12th and 13th centuries. Until the beginning of the 19th century, as many as 150 stave churches still existed. A number of them were destroyed as part of a religious movement that favored simple, puritan lines, and today only 28 remain, though a large number were documented and recorded by measured drawings before they were demolished.
The stave churches owe their longevity to architectural innovations that protected these large, complex wooden structures against water rot, precipitation, wind, and extreme temperatures. Most important was the introduction of massive sills underneath the staves (posts) to prevent them from rotting. Over the two centuries of stave church construction, this building type evolved to an advanced art and science. After the Reformation, however, no new stave churches were built. New churches were mainly of stone or horizontal log buildings with notched corners. Most old stave churches disappeared because of redundancy, neglect or deterioration, or because they were too small to accommodate larger congregations, and too impractical according to later standards.
Romanesque architecture The first stone churches in Norway were Romanesque, built under the influence of Anglo-Saxon missionaries, particularly bishop Nicholas Breakspear. Later churches were influenced by Continental architecture. Examples include Ringsaker Church and the Old Kviteseid Church. A number of these churches have either been lost or rebuilt in the Gothic style, but numerous examples still exist, notably the Trondenes Church in Harstad Municipality in Troms county.
Gothic architecture Several churches that were originally built as Romanesque structures were modified or extended during the Gothic period. Among these are the Old Hamar Cathedral (now in ruins), the Stavanger Cathedral, and the renowned Nidaros Cathedral, one of the most important pilgrim destinations in medieval Europe.
Under Danish rule
In the late Middle Ages, the Norwegian state was severely weakened. In 1389 Norway entered into a personal union with Denmark and Sweden in the Kalmar Union. As the kings resided in Denmark, Norway was gradually reduced to a provincial status, and after the Reformation most of its separate institutions were abolished. The Danish government in Copenhagen regarded Norway as a backward province to be exploited, but not worthy of investment in monumental architecture. Hence, ambitious Renaissance architecture is unusual in Norway compared to other European countries.
Fortresses, such as Akershus in Oslo, Vardøhus in Vardø, Tønsberghus in Tønsberg, the Kongsgården in Trondheim and Bergenhus with the Rosenkrantz Tower in Bergen were built in stone in accordance with standards for defensive fortifications of their time. A number of these were modernized and rebuilt through the years.
The Hanseatic League also built unique commercial buildings at Bryggen in Bergen, starting in the 16th century. They were log buildings combining native and German traditions.
Renaissance architecture