Lulea 2nd February 2022

Today, in beautiful, very cold winter weather, we are taking a great tour over Bergnäset, Solberg, Avan, Skogsa, Vjbbin, Sävast, Gammelstad Church Town back to Lulea. We will take a closer look at Gammelstad Church Town. But what is a church town? Sweden is very sparsely populated, especially up in the north. Those who wanted (or had to, because it was mandatory at the time) to go to church often had long distances to travel. To make this feasible, the wealthier farmers built small houses and stables around the church. This way, they could stay there, attend the church service, and then make the long journey back home. In a church town, people gathered for Sunday worship and special occasions. But this was not just a place for prayer. It was also a place for celebration, as people had the day off. And the young people went on a hunt for a partner, which they otherwise had little opportunity for. There were even special youth weekends for this purpose. The houses in the church town are mainly used for going to church, especially for special occasions such as Midsummer. The houses are not permanently inhabited. They also do not have running water, at most electricity.