What makes the decorated farmhouses of Hälsingland unique?

UNESCO statement, June 2012:

“The 7 decorated farmhouses of Hälsingland represent an outstanding collection of farmhouses with more than 1,000 well-preserved farms and about 400 room decorations still in situ. The density of intact preserved decorated rooms is unparalleled...

The farms... are outstanding examples of how independent farmers within a small geographical area combined a highly developed building tradition with a rich folk art tradition in the form of decoratively painted interiors especially for celebrations.

These decorated farms bear witness of a culture that has disappeared today, but whose buildings and interiors with their variations, richness and quality, have been preserved in an exceptional way... and are of outstanding universal value.”

They were built by ordinary farmers

The fact that so many well-preserved Hälsingland farmhouses remain is an important reason for nomination as a World Heritage Site. The seven World Heritage farmhouses should be seen as representatives of all these Hälsingland farmhouses. They were built by ordinary farmers. Both individual rooms and entire houses were furnished and decorated in a folk art that was varied, to be used only for celebrations.