Station: [5] Living Room: Parlour and Chilly Splendour

M: The living room used to be jokingly nicknamed "Kalte Pracht" – "Chilly Splendour".

F: Because the living room – the parlour – wasn't about cosy family gatherings. It was about prestige and image. People wanted to show off what they had and who they were. And since this room was only used on certain festive occasions, it wasn't heated in winter. The splendour remained chilly...

M: ... while everyday life happened in the kitchen. That was where people cooked, ate and worked. The "best" tableware, the silver cutlery and the good tablecloths – they were waiting in the parlour for their turn.

F: But when family parties or Christmas celebrations were in the offing, the parlour was spruced up to provide a fitting welcome for those who lived in the house as well as their guests. Because important occasions like christenings, confirmations, weddings, big birthdays, anniversaries and even funerals – they didn't just take place in the parlour...

M: ... they were also memorialized there. Mementos of festive occasions, like specially decorated crockery or glasses, were displayed behind glass on the shelves of the sideboard. A father, son or husband killed in the war, or brothers and sisters who died young, also had a permanent place in the parlour. It was where memories were kept alive. The parlour would often reflect an entire life, or the fate of a family.

F: The living room here at the museum is a mix of pieces from various periods: from the late 19th century desk to the corner sofa from the 1940s.

Because like such rooms generally, this parlour reflects evolving tastes and the wide variety of ways in which people entertained and presented themselves in changing times.