KÖNIGSHÜTTE.
295
and the others three rooms each. Of the two roomed tenements one is in
the front and the other at the back of the house, and each consists of a kitchen
and a bed-living room. In the front tenement the rooms measure :—-
Kitchen, 18 J feet by 10 feet.
Bed-living room, 18J feet by 15 feet.
In the back tenement the rooms measure :—
Kitchen, 15& feet by 9J feet.
Bed-living room, 19^ feet by 15|- feet.
The height varies from 10J feet on the ground floor to 9J feet on the third
floor. On each landing are two closets (tankless) for the use of the four
families, and this (together with the fact that the tenements open off a common
vestibule running at right angles to the stair landing) constitutes the chief
advantage which these tenements have over those described in the previous
example. Here too, the water supply is on the landing and each tenant has a
lumber room and facilities for laundry drying in the attics, as well as the usual
cellar compartment.
Example 3.—This relates to three-roomed tenements, which, in so far as
they are occupied by working-class families at all, are, as a rule, only to be
found in the tenement houses of more recent construction, such as those in the
Kreutzstrasse, containing the two-roomed flats described in the previous
example. The three-roomed tenements there referred to cost 18 marks per
month on the ground and third floors, 20 marks on the first and 19 marks on
the second floor. These amounts correspond to weekly rentals of '6s. 6d. to
7d. The dimensions of the rooms in one of these flats were found to be as
follows :—
Kitchen 19J feet by 9J feet.
Living room 19 J feet by 18J feet.
Bedroom 19 feet by 15J feet.
These dimensions apply to the corresponding rooms on all the floors, but the
height varies slightly on the different floors as stated above.
In any comparison of the above rents with those for working-class
tenements in the United Kingdom it has to be borne in mind that the rent of a
German dwelling comprises as a rule no element of local taxation, the bulk of
funds needed for local purposes being raised by means of a local income tax.
In Königshütte this tax which represents 250 per cent, of the State income tax,
is levied on all incomes of £21 a year or more and the amounts payable on the
income classes within which most workmen’s families would fall are shown
below.
Limits of Yearly Income.
From £21 to £33
„ £33 „ £45
„ £45 „ £52 10s. .
„ £52 10s. to £60 .
„ £60 to £67 10s..
„ £67 10s. to £75 .
„ £75 to £82 10s..
„ £82 10s. to £90 .
„ £90 to £105
„ £105 to £120 .
„ £120 „ £135 .
„ £135 „ £150 .
State Income Tax.
£ S. d.
Exempt.
6 0
9 0
12 0
16 0
110
16 0
111 0
1 16 0
2 4 0
2 12 0
Local Tax.
£ s. d.
6 0
10 0
15 0
12 6
1 10 0
2 0 0
2 12 6
3 5 0
3 17 6
4 10 0
5 10 0
6 10 0
Retail Prices.
Until quite recently it used to be a matter of complaint among the shop
keepers of Königshütte that the facilities afforded by the Tramway system, by
tempting the people to visit the neighbouring towns, more especially Kattowitz,
which is less industrial and offers more opportunities for amusement, were drawing