Lithuanian wooden architecture : materials, ancient tools and constructive technologies for the safeguard of cultural heritage

Traditional wooden buildings are a valuable part of European cultural and architectural heritage. The construction of wooden buildings presents a wide variety of technological, formal and typological types of buildings between various European countries as it is strongly influenced by the nature and availability of local materials and the cultural aspects of the various communities. For the construction of wooden buildings in Lithuania were used all local natural resources: various species of wood, used for building construction, a compact stone for groundworks, clay and bricks, lime mortar, the dried moss useful for building insulation, and also straw and wooden shingles essential for roof cladding, etc. Also each region presents specific architectural features, which are often associated with different choices relating to constructive materials and decorative elements. This study would analyze the wood species and other construction materials, traditionally used for cultural heritage in Lithuania (stone, brick, mortar, metal, ...) also study woodworking process, carried out by specific tools of local tradition, which were found in various Lithuanian ethnographic museums. Most of these carpentry tools still could be applied for the safeguard interventions using a still actual and philological handicraft techniques, during the consolidations, or recoveries and partial reconstructions.

L'architettura in legno in europa costituisce uno dei più rappresentativi elementi del patrimonio da preservare. In questo studio si diescrivono le tipologie edilizie, i materiali, le tecniche costruttive e gli utensili dell'architettura lignea in Lituania, spesso ritrovati e ben dicumentati nei musei etnografici del Paese. Queste opere di carpenteria lignea devono essere ben studiate e d analizzare per garantirne la valorizzazione e la salvaguardia, utilizzando criteri di intervento compatibili e rispettosi dei caratteri originari dei manufatti.