continueing --- In a discussion of the village fires -- Even today fires occur which burn down whole villages, like several years ago Tschies near Buchau. In our area the danger of fire was minimized by gables built from masonry and hard roofing material. In this context it should be condiered that a barn of today has a contents three times that of previous periods. With the reduction of the straw roofs the increase in tile roofs went hand in hand. The first brick ovens used to be heated by wood, the roof tiles burnt by wood were an excellent product and lasted on some roofs for more than 100 years. The last straw roof in Furwitz was covered in the year 1906 on the barn of karl Pohl No 14, or respectively was repaired in large part with straw. For the last time a "Scheible-Binder" (a man that bundled the straw) performed his craft, which now belongs to the past. In describing the old structures in Furwitz in 1928 he describes drawn pictures of houses -- Low slung house, as they were built around 1700. Straw roof covered with moss, bark gable, ceiling wooden slats, floor dirt or boards, frame (hand) hewn beams. This model does not exist any more today. Built till the year 1800 -- shingle or tile roof -- second floor wooden frame structure. Bottom part built from stones. Covered with roofing tiles. Old barn -- roof covered by shingles or tiles -- wooden and frame walls Hope this helps. Sandy ----- Original Message ----- From: <Gjs332@wmconnect.com> To: <CZECH-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Tuesday, August 10, 2004 12:09 AM Subject: [CZ] Peasant dwelling, discription? > I have been searching for information about the physical description of the > dwellings of our ancestors for some time and have not found much. What I found > was generic (for Europe) so I do not know if it applied to the peasants of > Bohemia and to which time period. Below is a summary of that information. > > The dwellings were constructed of local building materials: wood, wattle and > dub pressed on to and into reeds and willow twigs, stone masonry. or log > construction. The house or hut was a meager one or two-room dwelling with a > thatched roof of reeds and straw, which was an easy target for enemy soldiers. Some > time later, tile roofs became popular. Some dwellings were constructed of earth > kneaded with straw, in block form and stacked up to 2 feet thick. Another > report indicated that some people lived in underground burrows (this may not have > been in Bohemia). > > There would be a fire pit for heat, with a hole in the roof for the smoke to > escape. This would result in smoke / soot covered walls and dark interiors, > which would create a health problem. Sometimes animals would live in a part of > the dwelling. The animals would help supply some warmth. There might be one > window, with paper in the opening. This probably was before the glass making > industry came into existence. > > There was also a description of 2 and 3 story homes with iron railings over > the windows; this must have been later, perhaps after 1865. > > Can anyone correct or add to this? Also, how much of this was applicable to > Bohemia and in what years? Does any one have a description of the dwellings of > the 1500s or 1600s? > > Thanks, > Glenn > > > ==== CZECH Mailing List ==== > No off topic posts, flames, virus warnings, prayers, jokes, > chain letters, etc. Violators will be placed on message monitoring > and/or lose subscription privileges. > >