page_title: Estonian vernacular architecture
section_title: Farm buildings
hierarchical_section_title: Estonian vernacular architecture / Farm buildings
context_page_description: The Estonian vernacular architecture consists of a number of traditional vernacular architectural styles throughout Estonia, embodied in villages, farmyards and farm houses. The oldest written sources describing Estonian villages date back to the 13th century, when they were mentioned in the Liber Census Daniae and by the chronicler Henry of Livonia.
context_section_description: The Estonian farmhouse has a unique architectural style that differs fundamentally from similar buildings in neighbouring countries. Its evolution is connected with the Estonian staple black bread and an agrarian tradition dating back some 4000 years, with the threshing barn and dwelling housed under the same roof, thatched with reeds or rye straw. 
  The form of a traditional 19th century farmhouse is a long chimney-less building with low walls of horizontal logs and a high straw thatched roof. The log walls are one third and the roof two thirds of the total building height. The build has three sections: the threshing floor, the kiln room, and the dwelling chamber, which was used as the primary residence during the winter. The kiln room was the only heated room and all indoor activities were carried out there. During the autumn it was used to dry grain. From summer to autumn cooking was performed in an external summer kitchen and people slept in hay lofts and store rooms.
caption: An Estonian Sauna.
exif: {"Image ImageDescription": "OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA", "Image Make": "OLYMPUS IMAGING CORP.", "Image Model": "E-510", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "314", "Image YResolution": "314", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Version 1.3", "Image DateTime": "2008:06:05 17:55:17", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "Image ExifOffset": "194", "Image PrintIM": "[80, 114, 105, 110, 116, 73, 77, 0, 48, 51, 48, 48, 0, 0, 37, 0, 1, 0, 20, 0, ... ]", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "11988", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "9376", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/200", "EXIF FNumber": "9", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Program Creative", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "100", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0221", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2008:06:05 17:55:17", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2008:06:05 17:55:17", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "925/256", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF LightSource": "Unknown", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, auto mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "22", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "3648", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "2736", "Interoperability InteroperabilityIndex": "R98", "Interoperability InteroperabilityVersion": "[48, 49, 48, 48]", "EXIF InteroperabilityOffset": "662", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF DigitalZoomRatio": "1", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF GainControl": "None", "EXIF Contrast": "Normal", "EXIF Saturation": "Normal", "EXIF Sharpness": "Normal"}