Mullbänkar i Västergötland - funktion, innehåll, uppbyggnad och syfte.

Abstract

The mullbänk (a Swedish word for an earth bench, greenbank, bank of earth) is one of the garden's cultural heritage, but today often a forgotten part of the garden history. The mullbänk has historically worked, among other things, as a kind of insulation, a place for growing plants and a place to sit on. The mullbänk was historically built to prevent floor coverings, which was done by placing soil in various ways against the foundations of the house. The purpose of this study is to explore and visualize the history, function, content, building and purpose of Västergötland's mullbänk during the 19th century. This has been done by studying literature, photographs and questionnaires from the Nordic Museum's archives concerning mullbänk. The essay also provides suggestions for how a mullbänk around Helénstugan in Skövde, Västergötland could be recreated. Helénstugan was built in the early 1600s and is the only building in Skövde that remains after the great city fires in 1795. Around this cottage, a design suggestions is created for a mullbänk, this proposal is based on historical photographs and literature of the cottage. But also on the knowledge and facts about the history of the mullbänk, function, content, structure and purpose, as it was explained by the query responses collected by the Nordic Museum, in Västergötland during the 19th century. The result of this study shows a wide variety of variables between the mullbänk in Västergötland during the 19th century, both in function, content and structure.The study also shows the importance to the spread the knowledge about mullbänk to other professions, in order to preserve and build sustainable mullbänkar in the future.