Gammelstad (Luleå, Sweden)

Gammelstad Church Town (Swedish: Gammelstads kyrkstad) is a UNESCO World Heritage Site situated in Gammelstaden 10 km north of Luleå, Sweden, at the northern end of the Gulf of Bothnia. It is the best preserved example of a type of town that was once widespread throughout northern Scandinavia. As Church Village of Gammelstad, Luleå, it was listed as a World Heritage Site in 1996. The town is located about 10 kilometers upstream the Lule River. At its centre is the 15th-century Nederluleå Church surrounded by 424 wood-built houses. The houses were only used on Sundays and during religious festivals to accommodate worshipers from the surrounding countryside who could not return home the same day due to the long distance and difficult traveling conditions. Because the buildings are built from timber, regular maintenance is required to prevent rot; surveys have been carried out to document the extent of existing rotting, and snow is cleared regularly during the winter.