Heating System, Cast-Iron Stoves @museum.de

F: The descent of the Holy Spirit, Jesus on the Mount of Olives, Adam and Eve or Jesus being baptised by John – the subjects on the stove panels are generally borrowed from Bible stories. Some hark back to woodcuts by famous artists. As pieces of furniture, the small Bible stoves were as decorative as they were edifying in the otherwise rather austere homes.

M: The little cast-iron stoves that decorated and heated the chambers and parlours of the farmers and their hirelings were made in the late 15th century. Most were fed from another room and consisted of five cast-iron panels bolted together. The rear edges of the panels were bricked into the wall, and the stove was then operated from the adjoining room.

F: That was practical, because the smoke stayed in the hearth area, where it was needed anyway to smoke the hams and sausages. But the stoves in the parlour and bedchamber were so small that though they spread cosy warmth in their immediate vicinity, the single-glazed windows would probably still have iced up during the winter months. It would have been a pretty sight, mind you!