Lunettfönstren i Gunnebo slott – en undersökning av hantverkarens metoder

Abstract

The half-round lunette window is a common architectural detail in Swedish houses and older buildings since the middle of the 18th century. Knowledge about how older frames was methodically constructed, is today difficult to find in literature, and from the cultural historical point of view it is of the utmost importance that the few existing lunette frames that still exists will be well cared for and restored with the right methods. The aim of this essay was, through studies of existing literature, practical production of two lunette window frames based on own experience, and a thorough examination of Gunnebo Castle’s existing lunettes, presenting a method of how half round window frames could have been built with hand tools. The result of the essay is a hypothetical method to produce lunette window frames without the usage of machinery, but it’s also a discussion about how the craftsmen of old times handled wood as material, and how they reasoned about it compared to the artisans of today.