Dragons and Logs
Some buildings are more Norwegian than others. ‘Dragons and Logs’ shows how farm buildings and stave churches were used to construct ideas of a national style of architecture.
The idea that buildings can have a national identity is relatively modern. Internationally, the 19th century fascination with different cultures led to an increasingly intense focus on national styles. The question of what was national, and why, was debated all over Europe.
In Norway, the mediaeval period was quickly identified as a golden age, an era of national power and independence. Stave churches and farm buildings made with a notched-log construction (lafting) became national symbols.
While contemporary perceptions about what is national are ever-changing, many 19th-century ideas about what makes a building Norwegian still hold true today. ‘Dragons and Logs’ presents this history through drawings, photographs, models and paintings.