Sweden’s Ureddplassen roadside rest stop “Outhouse”

Swedens Ureddplassen Rest Stop Outhouse
Swedens Ureddplassen Rest Stop Outhouse

See all the pictures in the full article

Yes, it’s a bathroom, a public toilet, a roadside rest stop. But it happens to be an unusually stylish roadside loo, on one of the world’s greatest roads. This month, the Norwegian Public Roads Administration opened Ureddplassen, a $2 million installation near the town of Gildeskål along the Norwegian Scenic Route Helgelandskysten.

This spectacularly restful rest area features a few simple block benches of “Norwegian Rose” marble from the town of Fauske—the same stone used in New York’s United Nations building—and a lovely viewing platform of amphitheater-style steps facing the small beach and the open sea, ideal for gazing at the aurora borealis during the winter or the midnight sun in the summertime. Ureddplassen’s remarkable frosted-glass toilet building, designed by Oslo-based architects Marit Justine Haugen and Dan Zohar, has been created to evoke “a sense of poetic solitude as it complements the natural landscape of Norway.” Perfect.

 

“Very Cool” 3-Holer Saved from the Scrap pile

Restored 3-holer "Saved" from scrapping Outhouse
Restored 3-holer “Saved” from scrapping Outhouse

It isn’t too often that an Outhouse can be saved from being scrapped but Hope found this Outhouse laying on its side and ready to be cut up by the owner. She convinced the owner to give it to her and here are her own words describing the find.

Restored 3-holer "Saved" from scrapping Outhouse
Restored 3-holer “Saved” from scrapping Outhouse

Hi,  I recently found an old 3 seater outhouse laying on its side in the back of someones house.  My husband and I thought it would be great for our back yard as a tool shed.  Our house is 117 years old so this is a perfect fit.  We have dressed it up quite a bit, but left the interior original.  I absolutely love this building.   Hope

3-Holer that was almost destroyed
3-holer ready to be chopped up “Saved” from scrapping Outhouse

The picture of it laying on it’s side is how I found it.  The fella was going to chop it up.  We painted the outside, but left the interior all original.

3-holer "Saved" from scrapping Outhouse
3-holer “Saved” from scrapping Outhouse

If you look at the inside shot, you can see a lower smaller hole. That one was used by the children. They being shorter needed a lower hole. In our Outhouse, we had a smaller diameter hole for the children and built a step out of wood for them to climb up onto the platform.

"Saved" from scrapping Outhouse window
“Saved” from scrapping Outhouse window

Pictures used by permission of Hope Moore who took the pictures.

The Finns Know: Indoor Toilet vs. Outdoor Outhouse (Water Closet)

Someone I worked with in Germany sent me an article written in German about Outhouses in Finland.  The basic thought of the article was “We are free from worries in this small outhouse.”

The Finns Know: One of the last Outhouses from the past
HC statt WC – Outhouse instead of Indoor Water Closet
The Finns Know: One of the last Outhouses from the past
The Finns Know: One of the last Outhouses from the past

GermanOuthouseArticle

I am working on getting this article translated. If you want to provide a summary in English, please comment on it. Thanks!

 

Welcome to our new web site

HI,

We have created a new web site for the Outhouses of America Tour. Our intent over the next year is to slowly transfer outhouses over from the old html site to this site.

Also, comments people Emailed us sometimes sat in the hopper for days, weeks or months. This should allow a quicker movement to the web site.