Hórreo

An hórreo (Spanish) is a granary built in wood (Iberia or Scandinavia) or stone (Iberia), raised from the ground by pillars ("pegollos", in Asturian, "esteos", in Galician) ending in flat stones or "mueles" or "tornarratas", to avoid the access of rodents. Ventilation is allowed by the grooves in its walls. In some areas, hórreos are known as hórreu, horru (Asturian), hórreo, paneira, canastro (Galician), espigueiro (Portuguese), stabbur (Norwegian), härbre or more precisely stolphärbre or stolpbod (Swedish)

Hórreos are mainly found in Northwest Spain (though there are also in other Northern villages). There are two main types of hórreo, rectangular-shaped, the more extended, typical from Galicia and square-shaped from Asturias and eastern Galicia. The oldest Spanish document containing an image of an hórreo is the Cantigas de Santa María by Alfonso X "El Sabio" (song CLXXXVII) from XII A.C. In this depiction, three rectangular hórreos of gothic style are illustrated. The longest hórreo in Galicia is located in Carnota, A Coruña and is 35 m long.

There are several types of Asturian hórreo, according to the characteristics of the roof (thatched, tiled, slate, pitched or double pitched...), the materials used for the pillars or the decoration. The oldest still standing date from the 15th century, and even nowadays they are built ex novo. There are an estimated 18,000 hórreos and paneras in Asturias, some are poorly preserved but there is a growing awareness from owners and authorities to maintain them in good shape.

Other similar granary structures include Asturian "paneras" (basically, big hórreos with more than four pillars), "cabaceiras" (galician round basketwork hórreo), "espigueiros" or "canastros" in northern Portugal, (the most famous concentration is located in Soajo), "trojes" or "trojs" in Castile or silos, and Balkan hambars.

The origin of the horreo is the horreum from the Roman Empire, and is an old technology nearly disappear in the rest of the empire.

"Härbren" exist throughout Sweden, but the more hórreo-like "härbren", raised from the ground by pillars, are only found in the central and northern part of the country. The church "häbre" ("kyrkhärbret") in Älvdalen, Dalarna, built circa 1285, is one of the oldest surviving non-religious wooden buildings in Sweden.

External links

* [http://usuarios.lycos.es/grado/horreo/Horre.htm Asturian hórreos]
* [http://es.youtube.com/watch?v=tCT5G8hGBKM Galician hórreos]
* [http://www.iberianature.com/material/horreos.htm Horreos in English]