F: No great leaps, now! Living in the Dweersack apartments was a relatively cramped affair – especially when you consider that three generations of a single family would have been living here under one roof along with their livestock.
M: The building does have a couple of "Kofen" – extra stalls on either side of the great door, which provided a little more space for the livestock. But still: the entire living space consisted of the hall and a parlour with sleeping alcoves.
F: The families who lived here were hirelings, that is, tenants of the farmer who occupied the large farmstead. They weren't rich, but neither were they poor. The people living in the Single Room House, which you'll also find on this site, were considerably worse off.
M: Strictly speaking, there was no opening between the two apartments in the Semi-Detached House. But for museum purposes, we've opened up one wall, so you can look around both apartments. In all these houses, the hearth was the centre of communal life. Here in the Dweersack, the elaborate racks above the hearths date from 1687 and 1737!
Fotos: © Tanja Heinemann
