Today we want to tell you about one of the most typical constructions of Asturias, the horreos (and paneras)
It is not the only typical Asturian construction, but perhaps the most famous. There are thousands of them. Rare is the town where you do not find some horreos.
What were they for? Mainly, for storage. Above all, to store grain, and other non-perishable foods. Its elevated and ventilated structure (the walls are not normally sealed, but there are slits between the boards that form them) without light, allows food to be kept dry for a long time.
Come on, like a very big pantry.
It is important to know that this use has been the main one, but not the only one. It has also served in a more or less punctual way as housing, workshop, accessory stay …
A curious detail. Legally, it is a mobile property. That is, like a car. In fact, it is designed to be able to be disassembled and assembled if necessary. In fact, you could buy yourself a horreo and ride it back in your garden. As long as it is not catalogued. And as long as you have a garden.
That has made that, in many occasions, the horreo belongs to one person, but it is on another-s land. For hundreds of years. Curious, don’t you think so?.
And that has to do with the photo that opens our blog. Mainly, the horreos were elements of economic power. Whoever had a horreo, had some wealth in the village. It has a build too, and things to keep, you know. Ostentation of wealth, come on. But of course, time passes by and not everything always stays that way. Sometimes your money dwindles, or you do not need as much space. And, what do you do? You split it halfway with someone else. You open a second door, mount a wooden partition in the middle, and build a new “subidoria” (in the photo you see 2 stone stairs) for the other access. Now, people call it timesharing. You see that everything is invented …
Of course, if we Asturians wanted to take advantage of our uniqueness, this is not the time. Although this construction is clearly Asturian, there are similar models in other areas of the peninsula (Galicia, Cantabria, León, Portugal, Biscay, Navarre…), and also in the rest of Europe (France, Belgium, Germany, Great Britain, Norway, Sweden…). Even in other areas of the world.
We bring you a photo of an horreo in Iran that has its resemblance to our Western Asturian ones, with vegetal cover.
You see, that at some point building aloft became fashionable, and this was a non-stop.
Globalization, they want to call it. now….
Original resources: http://www.solomadera.com/15_horreo_asturiano_madera.htm
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