Houses and social practices – rebuilding Kalmar after the city fire of 1765

Every major fire in an early modern city was a local disaster that required short- and long-term solutions. The rebuilding process was complex, involving multiple actors with different interests.

The fact that many buildings had to be constructed at the same time placed great demands on things like access to materials and labour. At the same time, the situation presented opportunities for change and renegotiation. Established relationships and distribution channels were put to the test and it is likely that the reconstruction also contributed to the creation of new networks.

The situation provides concrete insights into how such a serious crisis was handled by the local community. The intensification of construction, which brought many things to a head, also gives us a concentrated view of these activities – an opportunity to look at house building through the lens of the urban fire.

This allows us to shed light on the issues addressed in the HASP project – Houses and Social Practice in Swedish Cities 1600–1850 from a somewhat different perspective. The purpose of the study is to do this by examining the reconstruction after the 1765 city fire in Kalmar.

Three areas of concern are addressed:

• immediate crisis management,
• reconstruction and impact on housing, and
• urban planning.

How were the immediate needs for shelter addressed? How was reconstruction organised and financed? How did it work in practice? How did property ownership affect reconstruction? Who built the houses and where were the materials sourced? How did the rebuilt parts of the city relate to the earlier settlement? Were there changes in spatial organisation, at plot or city level?

The project is being carried out as part of the HASP project and, as in the HASP project as a whole, the questions are answered on the basis of a combination of written sources and archaeological, here building archaeological, material.

(Picture: City fire in Gävle 1869? Artist unknown. Public domain)