Author(s)

D. Kittang

Abstract

Wooden buildings used to be a common European building tradition in the Middle Ages. Wood was prohibited to use as a building material in towns and villages in most parts of Europe, because of the fire hazard. The authorities in Norway did not make strong efforts to make sure that the buildings would be built in brick, probably because of economic reasons. That is why we still have many wooden towns in our country. These towns are now considered an exceptional contribution to the world architectural heritage. After the great fire in Ålesund in 1904, wood was forbidden as a building material in towns in Norway. During the 20th century, the wooden towns decayed and many wooden buildings were demolished. From 1970-80 and onwards, there was a change in attitude. The old wooden towns are

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