Stabbur

Stabbur. Heritage Park, Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum. , Overview , Vesterheim was the first institution in the United States to collect and preserve buildings by moving them to a museum setting. The Eriksen-Hansen Stabbur protected grain and meat from pests and moisture by elevating them off the ground. This type of building was common in Norway, but seldom found in the United States.

. The stabbur was a symbol of wealth in rural Norway. , . The Eriksen-Hansen Stabbur was built around 1860 by Hans Eriksen near Byron, Minnesota. , . 1994.097.001 , Gift Larry and Mary Hansen

, This type of building, a storehouse raised on pillars, was a common Norwegian form. It was used on farms to store grain and meat. Elevating the building allowed airflow to prevent moisture from seeping up from the ground and kept out rodents. Having surplus agricultural products to store meant that even a small stabbur was a symbol of success and wealth. Storehouses on large farms might have a second floor or loft. , Food storehouses on pillars were seldom found on Norwegian-American farms. In America, farmers typically used one large building to hold grain, livestock, and equipment. In Norway, farmers built smaller individual buildings to hold those things. , This stabbur was built after 1860 by Hans Eriksen on his farm near Byron, Minnesota. The building and pillar stones were moved to Vesterheim in the fall of 1988. , Vesterheim's collection of buildings helps tell Norwegian immigrant stories through the people who lived in them and how they lived. In 1913, the Egge-Koren House was the first building moved to the museum, which was then on Luther College's campus. Vesterheim Museum was the first institution in the United States to collect and preserve buildings by moving them to a museum setting. This practice is more common in Scandinavia, where entire farmsteads have been moved and preserved. , Vesterheim aims to preserve not only the structures, but all of the details, such as the stones used as thresholds, the paint color and even the direction the building was facing or where it was placed in the landscape. For example, we have rebuilt the Tasa Drying Shed into a hillside as it had been in southern Minnesota. Some buildings were picked up and moved whole to Decorah and others were dismantled, numbered, and rebuilt like a giant puzzle.