It is a "all-in-one" home (Einhaus) that houses both living quarters and animal stalls under one roof. This rustic kind of farmhouse may still be seen in numerous communities throughout Germany's central and southern regions. Its distribution area's northern edge is about where the Central Uplands meet the North German Plain. The Einhaus house was originally designed to store grain. It consists of two rooms: a lower room used for storing grains and an upper room used as a living space. The door between them has a small window which allows light into the room but doesn't allow animals out. There is also a small loft above the upper room where farmers could sleep during hot summers days. In addition to its use as a storage facility, the Einhaus house was also used for dairy production and meat curing. Today, these functions are performed in separate buildings called betten (lofts). The Einhaus house had many advantages over traditional farmhouses. It is larger, easier to heat, and less prone to damage from wind or water. A disadvantage is that it cannot be easily disassembled or moved if needed. After World War II, when most farmers no longer had access to their former farmland, these housing units began to disappear from rural Germany. However, they continue to be found in smaller communities where land is cheap and there is a demand for rental property.