Country and Town
The town was also once countryside. The origin of Vadstena is the large estate which in the 13th century became a royal palace. The palace and its grounds were donated for the construction of the monastery and when the monastery was being established, the town emerged. Early on the boundary between town and country was fairly unclear which could be seen in an archaeological dig at Hovslagaregatan. Originally the street was farmland but in the early days of the town also animal pens with a substantial layer of manure. With the expansion of the town a layer of sand was added as base for the construction of the street. Due to the town expansion in the 1900s some of the rural buildings have ended up inside the town. Starby on the edge of Vadstena is a completely rural environment which has become a part of the town. A couple of stone ancillary buildings are industrial spaces and the Manor house is a hotel
Country and town were separated with a clear boundary and from the middle ages until 1736 they had separate laws and separate governance. In spite of this they were closely linked and interdependent. The town was dependent of the countryside for provision of food, fuel and other products. The trade which rural areas depended on both for selling their produce and for buying necessary products was allowed in the town. Specialised craft unavailable in the country could be found in the town. In the middle ages it was very clear that the large land owners owned town mansions and therefore were allowed to sell their excess goods. The connection between town and country left traces in the town architecture. The earliest is the town square where trade took place. There are two squares in Vadstena, Rådhustorget which has been a square during the town’s whole existence and Stora Torget constructed in the 17th century. The harbour has also existed in various forms over a very long time. The earliest location is most likely at the shore of Lastköpingsgatan and has most likely existed since pre-historic times. From the beginning there were no jetties and the boats were simply pulled onto the shallow shore. Some remains of the harbour can be found in the form of a small lagoon by the Folkhögskola.
Today’s harbour for a long time consisted of a long jetty with loading taking place from anchored boats. When Göta Canal was constructed interest in the harbour increased and the derelict castle banks were demolished and the material used for construction of the new harbour. Grain, vodka and oxen were shipped from here. The importance of the harbour diminished when the railway was constructed but it remained a hub between different means of transport well into the 1900s. Various goods, particularly grain, were stored in the castle which was impractical. The grey warehouses south of the castle were built instead. By the 1940s these were replaced by the red warehouses west of the castle and not long after they were accompanied by the silo. The silo is the first of such a large building being constructed using a new casting method which makes it architecturally significant. The location close to the harbour and to the railway is natural, but the proximity to the castle has caused much discussion even if the height was carefully considered to not interfere with the skyline.
The development of the country side in the 19th century was radical. It started with the law of ”laga skifte” (enclosure reform). This meant that individual farms were given a continuous area of land. Villages that mostly originated from the middle ages were split up and the buildings moved and relocated to new allocated land. This reform might be the most significant change in the countryside since the introduction of farming. The development of the countryside was also supported by the expansion of the banking system with possibilities to borrow and manage capital, better tools, for example through Motala Verkstad (engineering company) and better transport. Oats was a major export product and created wealth that can still be seen today in the form of large painted manor houses. Gradually the construction of gardens also became the norm and the built form we see today and think of as typical, was in place. A typical style for manor houses built with oat money during the second half of the 19th century was a two story building with gable roof and frontispiece. The exterior could be either rendered or vertical painted timber. It is basically a neo classical building. Three of these are represented in the town, and can be seen from the intersection of Storgatan-Strågatan.
Small homes in the rural areas and in the town for day labourers were very similar with various types of tiny cottages. The difference is that the town cottages might have two stories. In the country such buildings would often be clustered at the edge of the parish. The area at Skedet is such an example. Here you find small cottages, some of them with extensions. There is also a typical chapel which is not a coincidence. The Christian revival movement had its foundation here amongst people living in small margins.