page_title: Low German house
section_title: Construction
hierarchical_section_title: Low German house / Construction
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Aus: Das altsächsische Bauernhaus, Willi Pessler, Braunschweig, 1906 The Old Saxon farmhouse, Willi Pessler, Brunswick, 1906.
context_page_description: The Low German house or Fachhallenhaus is a type of timber-framed farmhouse found in Northern Germany and the Netherlands, which combines living quarters, byre and barn under one roof. It is built as a large hall with bays on the sides for livestock and storage and with the living accommodation at one end.
  The Low German house appeared during the 13th to 15th centuries and was referred to as the Low Saxon house in early research works. Until its decline in the 19th century, this rural, agricultural farmhouse style was widely distributed through the North German Plain, all the way from the Lower Rhine to Mecklenburg. Even today, the Fachhallenhaus still characterises the appearance of many north German villages.
context_section_description: Externally a Low German house is recognisable from the great gateway at the gable end, its timber framework and the vast roof that sweeps down to just above head height. Originally it would have been thatched with reed; the last remaining examples with that type of roof are usually protected as listed buildings today.
  The most important feature of the farmhouse, albeit one which is not externally visible, is its internal, wooden, post-and-beam construction which supports the entire building. The frame was originally made of oak, which was very durable, but from the 18th century it was also made from cheaper pinewood. To protect it from damp, the wooden posts rest on a stone foundation about 50 cm high, often made of fieldstone. The non weight-bearing external walls were built as timber frames, the panels of which were originally filled in with willow wickerwork and clay (wattle and daub) and, later, with brick.
  In damp moorland and marshy areas the weather-side of the many such buildings was faced with brick. In Westphalia, in addition to the usual timber-framed buildings, there are also hall farmhouses (mostly of the four-post type, see below) whose external walls are made of brick.
  The two main forms of construction are the Zweiständerhaus (two-post farmhouse) and the Vierständerhaus (four-post farmhouse). The Dreiständerhaus (three-post farmhouse) is a transitional design.
caption: A Fachhallenhaus in Zeven-Brüttendorf 1905
  Length: 27 m, Width: 13 m, Height: 12 m
  -Side view through the Diele: stalls on the left, living quarters on the right,
  -End view through the Flett, the open kitchen
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