Red Cottages Of Gammelstad Kyrkstad Near Lulea In Sweden Stock Photo

Unesco World Heritage Gammelstad, at the head of the Gulf of Bothnia, is the best-preserved example of a `church village`.Church villages, uniquely found in northern Scandinavia, grew in the north due to large parish areas and difficult geographical and weather conditions – factors that made it quite a trip for churchgoers to actually get to church. Solution? Build a village around the church where you could sleep overnight, meet other parishioners, and stay for weekly masses and church celebrations.Open-air museumThe red cottages were traditionally used as intended up until the 1950s The village is a living community and open-air museum. Some of the cottages are still used by churchgoers for major seasonal church celebrations.