On your own in the Church Town

ON YOUR OWN IN
GAMMELSTAD
CHURCH TOWN
1.
28.
10.
Visitor Centre – Tourist information
Hägnan Open Air museum
Nederluleå Church
Restaurants
13.
14.
16.
Margaretas Värdshus (Margareta’s Inn)
Kyrkbyns Kök & Matsal (Church Village Kitchen & Dining Room)
Kaptensgården (The Captain’s Home)
Cafés
12.
13.
21.
30.
Sockenstugans Café (Parish hall Café) - only in the summer
Margaretas Värdshus (Margareta’s Inn)
Ullas Café
Kafé Fägnan
Accommodation
5.
Gammelstads Gästhem (Gammelstad’s Guesthouse)
Shops
17.
18.
19.
22.
25.
26.
29.
31.
32.
Gammelstads Delikatessbutik- only in the summer
Fräcka Fåtöljer (Cheeky chairs)
Ögonfröjd, gift shop
Hoven Droven, antique and used
Gammelstads Läderhantverk, genuine leather craft
Alkaveka, gift shop and design
Hägnan Village store
Hjortgården
Kulturgården
Other sights
2.
3.
4.
6.
7.
8.
9.
11.
20.
23.
24.
27.
ShopinLapland/The old fire station
Luleå Hembygdsgille
Church stables
The passage with the fire hook
Viewing Cottage
Church Hill
The Milestone
Parish storehouse/Tithe barn
Church square
Mayor’s Homestead
The old hostelry
The oldest harbour
In this document you find information about every sight, restaurant etc in
numerical order according to the track on the map.
1. Visitor Centre/The Betel Chapel
Tourist Information Office, World Heritage Site office, slide show, exhibition and
guided tours.
Activities at the Visitor Centre
Viewings of the World Heritage Site start from the Visitor Centre/ Gammelstad
Tourist Information Office, and include a guided walk around the Church
Town, visit inside Nederluleå church, inside one of the church cottages and
viewing of the exhibition and slide show in the Visitor Centre.
In the period June - August, these tours start daily. In the winter period,
viewings of the World Heritage Site are by arrangement in advance
Visitor Centre Shop
The Visitor Centre shop is in the old Betel Chapel, a beautiful old building
dating back to the 19th century. The shop has a wide range of souvenirs and
handicraft.
In our shop we offer craft by local artisans, books focusing on the local area
around Gammelstad, Luleå and Norrbotten, and a broad range of souvenirs,
gifts and postcards.
The building’s history
This building was constructing in 1806, and was originally used as an inn and
hostelry. It then resembled a mansion and was in stark contrast to the
surrounding buildings. The hostelry had many military customers, but when
military operations were moved from Notviken in Luleå to Boden, the
customer base diminished.
Nederluleå Baptist Congregation had been founded in 1860 and by the turn
of the 20th century, the congregation was big and influential. The
congregation bought the hostelry, and the festivities room was converted into
a parish hall . Staircase and steeple were added to the building, and living
quarters for a verger and pastor were built. In 1990, the Betel Chapel was
bought by Luleå Municipality and is today the Visitor Centre for the World
Heritage Site. The building houses a tourist information office, café, exhibition
and souvenir shop.
Contact information Visitor Centre
Tel +46 (0)920-45 70 10
Fax +46 (0)920-45 51 12
E-mail [email protected]
Web site www.lulea.se/churchtown
Address Kyrktorget, SE 954 33 Gammelstad
2. ShopinLapland/The old fire station
ShopinLapland offers exclusive and original works of art and designer crafts
from Norrbotten/Lapland.
The priest Albert Nordberg was well versed in history and deeply committed to
the survival of the Church Town in the 1930s. Among other things, he worked
to improve fire protection in the Church Town, and a new fire station was built
in 1934. The building today houses ShopinLapland at the Rutviksvägen car
park.
3. Luleå Hembygdsgille
4. The Church stables
In the past, villagers arrived in Gammelstad by horse. For that reason, the
Church Town included stables. On a map from 1817 you can count roughly
300 stables among the church cottages. Neighbours and relatives shared
stables for their horses. After around 1920, buses and cars gradually replaced
horses. Today there are only six stables left in the Church Town. They are no
longer used as stables.
5. Gammelstads Gästhem- Bed & Breakfast
Stay in idyllic Gammelstad at the snug Gammelstads Gästhem, a newlyopened guesthouse in the middle of the World Heritage Site. Gammelstads
Gästhem offers single rooms, twin rooms, three-bed rooms, four-bed rooms
and one two-roomed flat with room for up to 6 people. The rooms each have
a WC, and some rooms also have a shower, and there are showers along the
corridor. Parking spaces for guests.
Contact information
Address Gamla Bodenvägen 11, SE-954 33 Gammelstad
Tel +46 (0)920-25 40 00
Web site www.gammelstadsgasthem.se
E-mail [email protected]
6. The passage with the fire hook
Parallel with the alley you see the passage with the fire hook. There has
always been a considerable fire hazard among the tightly packed wooden
buildings. During religious feasts therefore there were always fire watchers
patrolling the alleys at night. Today visitors to the church cottages do not
have fires burning so often, thanks to electricity, but for safety's sake it is not
far to the fire station, just outside the World Heritage Site area.
7. Viewing cottage – church cottage 253 - 254
Church cottage 253 was probably built around the year 1750. One of its first
owners was the wealthy farmer and tradesman Erik Eriksson-Nordström from
Långsund, Mörön. Many years ago, the cottage was referred to as
"Storkarlsstugan" (The Big Man's Cottage) and later, the popular name was
"Stockamyr Cottage". It is an unusually large church cottage, and the reason
is that it was originally built as a “burgher’s house” for merchant farmers to use
when they came to Gammelstad to deal in skins and other commodities at
the market. Several church cottages have had this double function, serving
as overnight facilities both during markets and religious feasts.
The furnishings in the cottage and its two rooms are simple and typical for a
church cottage at the beginning of the 20th century. Some furniture was
donated for the cottage, while other furniture comes from Norrbotten
Museum and the open air museum Hägnan. Most of the furniture is from
Bälinge and other villages in Nederluleå Parish.
Opening hours
Viewing cottage - no 253-254
The viewing cottage is open to visitors on
Saturdays and Sundays during the
summer season (May—September)
The viewing cottage, address
Framlänningsvägen, is one of the few
church cottages not in private
ownership and is owned by Nederluleå
Village Society.
Visit to the viewing cottage, part of the
8. Church hill
The oldest inhabited house in Gammelstad stands on the church hill, and is a
private two-family dwelling. In the park near the church square stood the old
wooden belltower, which was pulled down in 1852, having being replaced by
the church steeple, which is there today. The park, which is on the same site
today, is on the foundations of Gammelstad Courthouse, built in 1900 and
demolished in the 1960s. In the park stands a sculpture by Einar Larsson
symbolising the special features of Gammelstad - the river and the buildings.
9. The milestone
The cast-iron milestone was raised in 1828. The system of milestones in Sweden
was intended to mark the distance between different villages and post
stations. Distances were measured in whole, half and quarter Swedish miles. A
Swedish mile at the time was 10,688 metres.
10. Nederluleå Church
The church in Gammelstad is the biggest mediaeval church in Northern
Sweden. It was built in the 15th century, and according to tradition it was
inaugurated by Archbishop Jacob Ulfsson in 1492.
The church has an added porch and vestry, a wood-shingle roof and brick
ornamentation on the upper gables. The churchyard wall has two entrances,
the northern one of which is in its original state. The entrances contain walledover loopholes and in the east gable of the church there is a spy hole. This
indicates that the church has been used as a sanctuary in times of unrest. The
whitewashed bell tower was built in 1851 and replaced an older wooden bell
tower to the northwest of the churchyard at the highest point of the hill.
The church interior is richly ornamented and furnished. The late-mediaeval
frescoes in the chancel are by the School of Albertus Pictor. They were
whitewashed over in the 18th century but restored in 1909. To the right of the
altar there are mediaeval pews and a reconstructed bishop’s throne or
cathedra.
The triptych above the altar, with its throng of wooden figures telling the story
of the Passion of Christ is among the finest in Sweden. It was built in Antwerp in
around 1520 and cost 900 silver marks, and enormous sum that the farmers of
Luleå are said to have paid in cash. The pulpit and memorial tablets were
made by Nils Jacobsson Fluur at the beginning of the 18th century.
The impressive church organ was inaugurated in 1971. It has 55 stops and
4,200 pipes varying in length from 5mm to 6m. The organ was built by
Grönlunds Organ Builders AB in Gammelstad.
Opening hours Nederluleå Church
During the summer period June- August, Nederluleå Church is open daily.
In the winter period Nederluleå Church is open Monday – Friday. Regular
church services are the weekly service on Wednesdays at 19.00, and the
Sunday service at 11.00. Forthcoming services and concerts can be found on
the Nederluleå Church web site or in the Church Town Calendar
The Visitor Centre offers guided viewings of Nederluleå Church, and of the
World Heritage Site area.
11. Parish storehouse/Tithe barn
The Parish Storehouse immediately south of the church was built in 1790. Here,
the farmers’ tithe was collected to go towards the priests’ pay and to help
the poor. The tithe was a form of taxation that corresponded to 1/10 of the
farmer's produce and was paid "in natura" with the proceeds of agriculture,
hunting and fishing, that were stored in tithe barns.
In 1839, the tithe barn became the parish storehouse for storing seed from
good years to be used in case of bad harvests. Gammelstad Parish
Storehouse was built in around 1790.
12. Parish hall
The parish hall was the rural counterpart of the town hall, and served an
important function. It was the place for parish meetings and court sessions.
The accused was detained in a cell in the building while waiting for trial and
sentence. Corporal punishment and fines were the forms of punishment
before there were prisons. Gammelstad’s present parish hall is probably the
fourth and was built in 1754 in the town quarter east of the church. It was
moved to its present location south of the church in the 1980s. Today the
parish hall is used as a meeting place and community centre, and in the
summer the parish runs a café in the building.
Parish hall Café
In summer, Nederluleå Parish has its own café in the parish hall, which stand
next to Nederluleå Church.
In winter, the parish hall is used for meetings, for after-church coffee, talks,
devotion and other functions.
Contact information
Tel +46 (0)920-27 70 00
13. Margaretas Värdshus (Margareta’s Inn)
Margareta´s Värdshus is one of the best-known restaurants in Gammelstad.
Margareta has run this inn for over 30 years, offering all sorts of delicacies, with
a menu based on local ingredients in a very special setting.
Margaretas Kaffestuga (coffee house) is on the cosy upper floor. Here you
can enjoy a cup of coffee, open sandwiches and buns in the characteristic
Inn atmosphere.
Restaurant, café, pavement café, fully licensed
Contact information
Address Lulevägen 2, SE-954 33
Gammelstad
Tel +46 (0)920-25 42 90
Web site www.margaretasvardshus.se
Email [email protected]
14. Kyrkbyns Kök & Matsal
Kyrkbyns Kök och Matsal (Church Village Kitchen & Dining room) is a gourmet
restaurant offering out-of-the-ordinary North Swedish food sensations. The
restaurant stands in the middle of Luleå´s beautiful and vibrant World Heritage
Site, Gammelstad Church Town, with the church in focus. History is constantly
present, and in Kyrkbyns Kök you can enjoy a menu featuring taste sensations
from Northern Sweden. Our unique raw materials come straight from nature
— the forests, mountains and pristine rivers.
The restaurant is fully licensed and seats about 120. In the summer months
there is also an outdoor section seating 90 with a view of the church and
World Heritage Site.
You can also book the restaurant for a custom occasion such as weddings,
parties, either here or as catering at a venue of your choice. In our wine
cellar, parties of up to 20 can book wine tasting, cheese sampling and
chocolate appraisal. Contact the restaurant to book.
Restaurant offering lunch, business lunch, à la carte, bistro menu and pub,
outdoor section. Fully licensed
Contact information
Address Lulevägen 1, Se-954 33
Gammelstad
Tel +46 (0)920-25 40 90
Fax +46 (0)920-25 40 90
Web site www.kyrkbynskok.com
Email [email protected]
15. Kyrkbyns Järnsmide
Genuine craftsmanship in the middle of Gammelstad Church Town.
Manufacturing of everything in industrial and artistic forging in the oldfashioned way in the village smithy, which dates back to 1929.
Products
Made-to-measure products and range of classic forged items. Own
production of all types of ironwork. Gates, railings, stairs, fencing, balconies,
chandeliers, keys, nails, jewellery, candle-holders, etc.
Activities at the smith´s:
Book a try-out lesson in forging under the supervision of a smith. Make your
own nail or bottle-opener. Kyrkbyns järnsmide offers customised activities for
companies, groups of friends, kick-offs, hen parties and stag parties...
Price example: Group of 1 to 5 people, 2 hours incl. material 800 kr (excl. VAT
moms)
Can also include light lunch or refreshments.
Call the smith if you want to know more or book a lesson.
Contact information
Address Sandåkersvägen 4, SE-954 33 Gammelstad
Tel +46 (0)70-611 40 77
Web site www.kyrkbynsjarnsmide.com
Email [email protected]
16. Kaptensgården (The Captain’s home)
In the middle of Gammelstad Church Town World Heritage Site stands the
restaurant Kaptensgården. The restaurant offers top quality food and drink in
a superb setting. The restaurant is pleased to accommodate groups and
wedding parties.
Banqueting room, outdoor sections, fully licensed
Conact information
Address Häradsvägen 9, 95433
Gammelstad
Tel +46 (0)920-25 70 17
Fax +46 (0)920-25 70 65
Email [email protected]
17. Gammelstads Delikatessbutik
In the former kitchen area of Kaptensgården, you can visit the summertime
delicatessen. It offers a variety of Norrbotten products, for example arctic
bramble jam, thinbread, smoked fish and dried meat. The attractive giftwrapped products make perfect Christmas presents or corporate gifts. The
owners of Kaptensgården see a big potential for the delicatessen shop and
hope to be able to develop it further through the many products they make
and are planning, all based on local ingredients. See you at the delicatessen
counter. (Only summertime)
18. Fräcka fåtöljer – furniture renovation & design
Furniture renovation and design company in the middle of Gammelstad
Church Town World Heritage Site. Fräcka fåtöljer (Cheeky chairs) creates
unique, personalised furniture and furnishings from old items, or give them a
new design.
Contact information
Address Kyrkstugevägen 6, SE-954 33 Gammelstad
Tel +46 (0)70-3242514
Web site www.frackafatoljer.se
Email lisbeth_peter@hotmail
19. Ögonfröjd – gift shop
On the church square, right in the middle of the Church Town, we find
Ögonfröjd — the little gift and design shop with the big assortment.
Products
Ögonfröjd sells garments of its own brand "Colour Beam design" as well as
handicrafts, souvenirs, gifts and much more.
Offer from Ögonfröjd
Ögonfröjd offers to sew a jacket or sweater especially for you — in your
colours and the design you wish.
Kontaktuppgifter
Adress Kyrktorget 7, 95433
Gammelstad
Telefon 0920-25 43 05, 070-330 18 50
Web site www.lulea.se/churchtown
Epost [email protected]
20. Church square
In the middle of the Church Town, north of the church, lies the church square.
There was a market place here on the hill even before Gammelstad Church
was built. The annual markets at Gammelstad evidently go back a very long
way.
21. Ullas Kafé
Ullas kafé, located in the middle of the church square in the old Betel Chapel,
offers coffee, sandwiches, buns, etc. The café also caters for groups by prior
arrangement.
Next to the café, in the same building, there is also the Visitor Centre
providing information for visitors and a slide show.
Contact information
Address Kyrktorget 1, SE-954 31 Gammelstad
Tel +46 (0)920-25 70 27 (0920-25 75 75 Gammelstads konditori)
22. Hoven Droven – antique and used
At Hoven Droven (roughly: "higgledy-piggledy ") you find everything from
antiques to second-hand, slightly used and new. The shop is in the cottage
bakery of Borgmästargården — the former mayor´s home. Open usually.
Contact information
Address Häradsvägen 14, SE-954 33 Gammelstad
Tel +46 (0)76-818 31 32
23. Mayor’s homestead
The Mayor’s homestead was probably built in the beginning of the 18th
century. The mayors of Luleå have lived here during two periods. The mayor
was not only a public official, but also a farmer just like the other citizens.
Behind the dwelling there are cowsheds and arable land.
24. The old hostelry
The building stands on one of the building plots from the 17th-century burgher
town. The building dates back at least to the late 18th century. The present
appearance of the building is from the 19th century when linseed-treated
panels were added over the timber framework, which was a fashionable
trend among the upper classes during this period. The building has housed a
doctor's surgery (1898), teacher training (1877), the court administration office
(1928) and hostelry (1951). The house is in privately owned today.
25. Gammelstads Läderhantverk – genuine leather
craft
In the middle of the World Heritage Site, among the small red church
cottages, stands the leather workshop Gammelstad läderhantverk. In this little
shop in the heart of the Church Town superior quality leathercraft products
are designed, produced and sold.
Products
The leather crafter´s shop has a broad range of bags, hats, caps, gloves and
slippers. Products for hunting and outdoor life, for motorbiking and for the
office. Also corporate gifts.
Activities at the leather crafter´s
Try sewing in skin and leather. See, feel and experience the different materials
together with a trained crafter. Information and odd facts about traditional
crafting are passed on at the same time.(Small simple things, keyrings,
bookmarks) Sew and imprint your name, keyring, bookmark.
Contact information
Address Gamla Hamngatan 6, SE-954 33
Gammelstad
Tel +46 (0)920-25 75 83, 070-663 82 25
Web site www.gammelstads-laderhantverk.com
Email [email protected]
26. Alkaveka, gift shop and design
Paintings, ceramic ware, gifts and handicrafts. Alkaveka also offers
possibilities for You to have a cup of coffee in the beautiful Church Town.
Contact information
Address Gamla Hamngatan 5, SE 954 33 Gammelstad
Tel 0920-16 990, 073-806 69 90
Web site www.alkaveka.se
Emal [email protected]
27. The oldest harbour
In the 14th century, Gammelstad Harbour lay roughly where today we see the
car park for the open-air museum Hägnan. 200 years later, in the 16th
century, the harbour was moved 600 metres to the east, to the bay
Gammelstadsviken, which is a forested area today. When that harbour in turn
became too shallow in the 17th century, it was moved to the new Luleå,
closer to the coast. At the bottom of the street Gamla Hamngatan, beside
the well and the entrance to Hägnan open-air museum, an information
board marks the site of the 14th century harbour.
28. Hägnan Open-air museum
If you are visiting Gammelstad Church Town, do not forget to visit the open-air
museum Hägnan. The open-air museum at Hägnan is a living open-air
museum just 300 metres from the World Heritage Site area. When you get to
Hägnan, you are taken back about 120 years in time and get to see how life
was for rural people in the past — the same people who stayed in the Church
Town during religious feasts. Meet figures from times past — servant girls and
farmhands in period dress, who tell you about their everyday lives.
Museum buildings
The buildings at Hägnan come from different parts of Norrbotten County and
give an authentic picture of a 19th century village near the coast and of how
life was lived in those days. In summer, the people of the farmsteads can be
found there — Hägnan´s gifted guides and actors wearing historical clothes
and talking about their 19th-century lives.
At Hägnan you can choose to enjoy the pleasant environment on your own,
visit the village store, look at the pets in the pens, try stilt-walking or play with
your children in and around the Peri-Hansch homestead — the children´s own
house at Hägnan.
You can also take part in a wealth of activities...
Activities at Hägnan
Hägnan open-air museum offers a number of activities and adventures for
young and old, companies and individuals all year.
Come along on a journey through the centuries, with knowledgeable guides
(in period dress) on a dramatised tour. Meet a crofter´s family in the 18th
century, visit a prosperous 1880s farm and round off in a well-assorted 1940s
village store. Taste cooking from different eras, bake bread in a wood-fired
oven, forge something in the smithy, make flocked wool, churn butter, make
icing. Challenge each other in team competitions, hold your conference and
personnel day at Hägnan or take a guided tour of the museum area while
the guide talks about the exciting background of the museum buildings and
the area.
Contact information
Address Prästhägnan, SE-954 33 Gammelstad
Tel +46 (0)920-45 48 66
Email [email protected]
29. Hägnans Village store – a trip to the 1940s
When you step inside Hägnan Village Store, you travel back to the 1940s and
see products and museum items that remind you of times gone by.
Products
Our assortment consists of household items, craft, toys, textiles, souvenirs,
sweets, etc. Most of the goods we sell have an old-world air about them, yet
at the same time, we feel that they can serve a useful purpose while they
bring joy to your everyday life.
Contact information
Address Gamla Hamngatan 21, SE-954 33 Gammelstad
Tel +46 (0)920-45 48 66
Email [email protected]
30. Kafé Fägnan
Cosy Kafé Fägnan gives you the chance to enjoy home cooking, bread
baked in the premises, fresh waffles and tasty nourishing sandwiches and
buns in a pleasant atmosphere.
If you book Kafé Fägnan for family occasions, business functions or
association meetings, we can serve home-cooked meals. Restaurant, café,
open fireplace, pavement café, fully licensed
Contact information
Address Prästhägnan, SE-954 33
Gammelstad
Tel +46 (0)920-45 48 69
Web Site www.kafefagnan.se
Email [email protected]
32. Kulturgården Gammelstad
Kulturgården Gammelstad is located in a beautiful old house in the centre of
Gammelstad Church Town.
Kulturgården contains studios for artists and a café. Occasionally
Kulturgården also arrange fairs, culture events and culture festivals.
What is a World Heritage Site?
At UNESCO’s general conference in 1972, the World Heritage Convention was
adopted to protect the world’s cultural and natural heritage. The convention
is an important instrument – not least for developing countries – in their work to
protect valuable monuments and settings.
Unesco wants through this convention to draw attention to the most
representative objects, and develop effective international cooperation to
guarantee as far as possible that the world’s cultural and natural heritage will
be protected and passed on – in good shape – to future generations.
One of the aims of the convention is to list cultural monuments and natural
features whose protection is valuable to people all over the world. Objects
put on the World Heritage List must be of particular universal value. Objects
which Unesco adds to the World Heritage List are termed World Heritage Sites.
There are 14 World Heritage Sites in Sweden, and as of 2007 there were 851
World Heritage Sites in the world.
The convention demands that affiliated countries should have the legislation,
organisation and education to guarantee that the cultural and natural values
in a country can be protected and preserved. For an object to be added to
the World Heritage List, the country in question must guarantee that the
object will be protected. Affiliation to the convention also means a
responsibility to respect World Heritage Sites located in other countries’
territory and to contribute economically to the maintenance of objects in
countries that lack of funds to do this. Sweden signed the convention in 1985.
Why is Gammelstad Church Town a World Heritage
Site?
On 7 December 1996, Unesco added Gammelstad Church Town to the World
Heritage List of cultural and natural settings of outstanding value to humanity.
The justification for inscription was
"Gammelstad Church Town is an outstanding example of the traditional
Church Town found in northern Scandinavia. It illustrates in excellent way the
adaptation of traditional community planning to the special geographic and
climatic conditions that prevail in a harsh natural setting."
Church town tradition
The World Heritage Site comprises the church surrounded by the Church
Town, the old quarters, the public buildings and parts of the more recent
permanent settlement. The Church Town tradition, i.e. the custom of staying
the night in the church cottages in connection with church attendance, is
crucial to its status as a World Heritage Site.
What is a Church Town and what do you do there?
The Church Town tradition – overnight accommodation
The farmers in the outlying villages built their church cottages in order to be
able to stay the night there in connection with attending church, court
sessions, parish meetings and markets. The Church Town was the parishioners’
accepted meeting place where they took the opportunity to meet friends
and acquaintances from villages other than their own. Religious feasts
eventually became divided into old people’s and young people’s feasts.
Young people’s feasts often led to new acquaintances and perhaps
marriage.
Living tradition
The church cottages are still privately owned and the church cottage owners
and other parishioners come here several times a year for religious feasts,
markets, lectures, courses and for the traditional Confirmation studies before
Midsummer, when young people often stay the night in their church cottages.
Church Towns
Out of a total of 71 Church Towns in Sweden, there are now only 16. In most
cases, only fragments remain. Gammelstad has Sweden’s biggest and best
preserved Church Town with 408 cottages containing 553 rooms.
The history of Gammelstad
One thousand years ago, the Luleå region was an archipelago, and the sea
level was 10 metres higher than today. The church hill in present-day
Gammelstad was a small island in the mouth of the River Lule.
After the Treaty of Pähkinäsaari in 1323, a new border was drawn up between
Sweden and Russia. The border in the North was not clearly set out in the
peace treaty. The Swedish king could therefore present the Lule River Valley
to local chiefs in central Sweden. The church sent priests and built simple
wooden churches and in 1339, in Svendal’s will, there is mention for the first
time of a church service being held in "Luleå".
The church and priests, taxation and Swedish legislation were used to bring
the regions in the north under Swedish sovereignty. Construction of the stone
church began in the 15th century. It is an impressive building that bears witness
to the economic prosperity of the region. The people of the parish made a
living among other things from livestock rearing, fishing and trading in skins
with the Sámi.
The first overnight cottages were probably built when the church was being
constructed. Long distances, tradesmen’s need of storage and overnight
accommodation near the fair, the church stables, where the horses stood
while the people attended church services, and last but not least the
obligation of the inhabitants to go to church regularly, all meant that the
number of church cottages slowly but surely increased.
The irregular siting of the cottages indicates that they were added gradually
and as needed. Initially, people from the same village had their cottages
adjacent and placed at the different villages various access routes to the
church. Once all the streets were lined with cottages, the land between the
roads was filled with buildings. This created alleys and "smog”, i.e. the narrow
passages between the church cottages.
Use the menu to the left to read more about the history of Gammelstad
through the centuries.
The 14th century
King Magnus Eriksson’s Regency of 1319-1364 decided that the Archbishop
Olof the Wise (himself a member of the Council of the Realm) should have full
ownership rights to give and make over land areas in and north of Hälsingland
in order to spread the word of God.
Sweden and Russia signed a peace treaty in Pähkinäsaari (Nöteborg) in 1323.
The Lule River, its tributaries and surroundings were shared between
Archbishop Olof Björnsson of Uppsala, the King’s bailiff Johannes Ingemansson
of Hälsingland and chief judges Nikolaus Fartiengsson and Peter Ungi.
Svenald of Rutvik left in his will all his land to Uppsala Diocese.
Records from 1379 mentioned a parsonage and a priest in Luleå.
Pollen samples from Mattisberget show that rye and barley were grown
around the Church Town at the end of the 14th century.
Construction of a church probably began in Luleå at the end of the 14th
century.
The 15th century
Tax records from Luleå Parish show that in the year 1413 there were 120
”chimneys" in the parish, which at the time extended along the entire Lule
and Råne river valleys. A "chimney" was roughly equal to a taxpaying
farmstead. Luleå Parish was as big in the area as today’s Benelux countries
and the number of inhabitants is estimated to have been around 2,000.
Archaeological finds from and after the 1430s show that the people reared
beef cattle, pigs, sheep and goats. They also ate grouse and other birds, fish
and hares.
Construction of the church proceeded and the building stones were
probably quarried at Bälingeberget on the opposite side of the River Lule.
Tradition has it that the big stone church was consecrated on 29 June 1492 by
Archbishop Jacob Ulvsson Örnfot. The church interior was decorated with
ceiling paintings by the School of Albertus Pictor. The church was dedicated
to St Peter the Apostle, the patron saint of the church.
The 16th century
There is mention of Birkarls in the Lapland regions of Torne, Lule and Pite. They
lived n the villages and traded with the Sámi (Lapps) north of the River
Skellefte. Accounts tell of a certain Olof Jönsson in Alvik who was a Birkarl, and
Mäster Mattias who was both a priest and Birkarl in Luleå.
The Swedish king Gustav Vasa broke with the Pope and Catholicism in 1524.
The church altarpiece, which was made by skilled artists in Antwerp, was
purchased by Luleå Parish in 1525 and the purchase price of 900 silver marks
was paid in cash. It was a considerable sum, and testifies to the prosperity of
the region at the time.
Luleå Parish comprised 47 villages and about 400 farmsteads.
A new church ordinance was introduced in 1571, which among other things
made it obligatory to attend church services.
The church roof burned down in 1558.
The Birkarl system was abolished in 1590 and many Birkarls instead became
Lapland bailiffs.
Uppsala Assembly formally introduces the Reformation.
The 17th century
The oldest records of Gammelstad Church Town with its church cottages is
found in an account by Johannes Bureus of his visit here at Christmas in the
year 1600: "All farmers do have their cottages near to the church at a place
they call ‘Bärghet’ (the Hill)".
In 1606, Jokkmokk became a separate parish with a church and market
place.
In the 17th century, the rule that all trading should be concentrating to towns
began to be enforced more stringently, and in 1621 the town of Luleå was
founded at the old marketplace on the church hill.
By 1649, the harbour had become too shallow. The reason was thought to be
"water loss". Today we know that the reason was in fact land elevation. The
citizens of Luleå were forced to move their town nearer the coast. This
brought about Luleå’s new town – and old town (Gamla stad) – today’s Luleå
and Gammelstad. Northeast of Gammelstad Church there are still some gridlayout quarters dating back to the town era in the 17th century.
In 1654, Råneå became a separate parish with its own church.
The first church in Luleå new town was built in 1667.
The 18th century
In the 18th century, the Church Town comprised a courthouse, hostelry,
officers’ dwelling, parsonage, churchyard, farmsteads, inns, etc.
The pulpit and commemorative tablets in the church were manufactured by
carpenter Nils Fluur in 1712.
In 1741, the mediaeval paintings in the church were whitewashed over and
new windows were built in the north wall of the church.
Carl Linnaeus visited Gammelstad in June 1732 on his Expedition to Lapland.
He wrote: "Though summer here be briefer than elsewhere in the world, yet I
declare it to be more pleasant. Never in my days have I been in such good
health as now."
The 19th century
The church weathercock was added to the roof of the church in 1801.
In 1817 there were 485 cottages and 359 stables in the Church Town.
The Church Town was the parishioners’ natural meeting place, were they took
the opportunity to meet friends and acquaintances from villages other than
their own. The religious feasts were eventually divided into old peoples and
young people’s feasts. The young people’s feasts led to many new
acquaintanceships and perhaps marriage.
The 30 metre church steeple was built in 1851 and two years later, the old bell
tower was demolished.
The Ore Line began operations in 1888, and for many parishioners, the first
encounter with a railway took place here in Gammelstad.
The high wall surrounded the church was demolished and replaced by iron
railings in 1897.
The 20th century
Luleå Diocese was founded in 1904.
The mediaeval paintings in the church that were whitewashed in the 18th
century were uncovered during restoration work in 1909.
In 1920, it became possible for the villagers to travel by bus and coach to till
Gammelstad. There was less need for horses, and the stables in the Church
Town eventually became disused.
In 1932, the wall surrounding the churchyard was restored.
The Municipality of Nederluleå merged with Luleå Municipality in 1969.
Grönlunds organ builders in Gammelstad built a new organ for the church,
and it was installed in 1971.
The tourist information office in Gammelstad opened in 1990.
Unesco named Gammelstad Church Town a World Heritage Site in 1996. In
the Church Town there are 408 church cottages containing 553 rooms. Of the
hundreds of stables, six remain.
The 21st century
The church cottages are still privately owned, and the owners and other
parishioners still come here for religious feasts, markets, lectures and courses.
During traditional Confirmation classes before midsummer, young people stay
in their church cottages.
Out of a total of 71 Church Towns in Sweden, there are now only 16. In most
cases, only fragments remain. Gammelstad has Sweden’s biggest and best
preserved Church Town with 408 cottages containing 553 rooms.
On 10 December 2006, Gammelstad Church Town celebrated its 10th
anniversary as a World Heritage Site. Mr and Mrs Martin and Ebba Hansson
were declared carriers of the keys and were awarded a key to the Church
Town for they are strong commitment to the church and the Church Town
tradition in Gammelstad.