Är det modernare idag än igår? : om åldern på lantbrukets byggnader

Abstract

SUMMARY
Is it more modern today than yesterday? : Buildings and Modernization of the Swedish Countryside

By using information from the two book series Svenska gods och gårdar and Sveriges bebyggelse, together with the database (LiM) from the National Heritage Board it has been possible to reconstruct how old farm barns were in Sweden at three historical points during the 20th century. The first point in time is just before the Second World War representing the end of the era of traditional farming, the second point occurs in the mid 50s when the modernizing was going on, and the last point is around 1990, representing our time today, the most modern time of all, as we might think. The starting point is the database of information about farm buildings in 20 parishes all over Sweden around 1990. The same information has been collected from the book series. I have registrated the year of construction. The main question has been if it is possible to see when the total mass of this building was in average most modern. The result is that just before the Second World War, the average age of a barn was about 37 years. The recently built barns, up to ten years old, were 14 % and the oldest ones, over 90 years, were 7 %. In 1955 the average age
of barns had increased to 46 years, the recent buildings were reduced to 8 % and the old ones had increased to 10 %. Around 1990 the average age of barns was 74 years, the resent buildings were down to 1 % and the 90 years old buildings had increased to 31 %. On the one hand, we have today a more modern farming situation than ever before, but, on the other hand, we also have more old redundant buildings than ever. In that respect you might say that we are living in a more ancient environment than ever.