The shrinking town in early modern Denmark seen with buildings archaeology’s eyes

Анотація

While the failure of towns in the late Middle Ages has attracted some research interest, the decline of urban settlements in the early modern period has been a largely unexplored topic. The crises of the 17th century brought Denmark to the brink of ruin. War, devastation, and the increasing lack of timber wood had a direct impact on the building stock and activity in the towns. The urban area was not only reduced abandoning outskirts and suburbia, but also existing housing decayed: Buildings were torn down completely, and half-timbered constructions were shortened or lost their upper storey providing resources for maintenance of the remaining fabric. Examples from Aarhus, Køge and Ribe will illustrate how the early modern city shrank and "cannibalized" itself during the crisis. The paper will discuss the causes behind and the forms of this shrinking process but also sum up essential innovation during this crisis.

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