Cost of living in German towns

Bibliographic data

Monograph

Identifikator:: 866449027

URN:: urn:nbn:de:zbw-retromon-93831

Document type:: Monograph

Title:: Cost of living in German towns

Place of publication:: London

Publisher:: Stat. Off.

Year of publication:: 1908

Scope:: 1 Online-Ressource (LXI, 548 Seiten)

Collection:: Economics Books

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226 ELBERFELD. rooms according 1 to the changing requirements of the tenants. Thus a suite of five rooms will divide into tenements of four rooms and one, three rooms and two, or two tenements of two rooms and a single room. Sometimes the doorways between tenements are bricked up, but separately from the adjacent masonry, so that doors may be put in if desired. Another feature of the modern house is the balcony, which is perhaps the most agreeable of the modern innovations in the domestic architecture of Elberfeld and indeed of this part of Prussia generally. As a rule each tenement on the upper stories has its small separate balcony behind. Sometimes these balconies are constructed of simple iron railings, but more often they are substantially made of concrete. An improvement which is also very common in the newer houses is the addition of a vestibule between the landing and the rooms to which it gives entrance, thus securing greater privacy for the tenement as a whole and for the individual apartments. The only peculiarities about the highest story, known as the “attic” or “roof” story (“Dachgeschoss”), are that the ceilings some times slope towards the gable end, the windows are, as a rule, smaller, and the rooms are less lofty than those below. Above this story comes a loft, which is properly so named, since it is generally approached by a rough staircase and in some of the older houses even by a ladder, while the roof and the walls are entirely unplastered. This space is commonly used for drying purposes where the accommodation in the house is insufficient. To every house is attached a portion of the cellar, each division being under lock and key. Water-closets are provided for the tenants on each landing, sometimes one for joint use, but in the newer buildings one for each tenement. The dimensions of the rooms in dwellings of modern erection may here be given, and as an illustration a new house of four stories, besides an attic story, containing eight tenements and 22 rooms (two being attic store-rooms), situated in the Cronenbergstrasse, is taken. The height of the basement rooms is 12 feet 8 inches, of the rooms in the first two stories 12 feet 1 inch, and of the uppermost story 11 feet 5 inches. The kitchens are 16 feet 2 inches by 12 feet 8 inches and 16 feet 7 inches by 12 feet 11 inches. The living and bedrooms are 16 feet 2 inches by 13 feet 2 inches, 16 feet 7 inches by 11 feet 5 inches, and 16 feet 7 inches by 12 feet 11 inches. There is ample cellaring, which is parcelled out amongst the tenants. Dimensions like these provide for the housing of families of normal size without overcrowding, and in most cases leave a considerable margin beyond the regulation cubical space per individual (see p. 229). The great majority of the working classes live in tenements of two and three rooms. Not counting attics, alcoves, and similar appurtenances where they occur, the dwellings of Elberfeld were classified as to rooms as follows in December, 1905 :— 1 Room. 2 Rooms. 3 Rooms. 4 Rooms. More than 4 Rooms. Total. Number of dwellings Percentage of the whole ... 3,417 8*4 14,929 36-9 8,771 21-7 6,203 153 7,188 17*7 40,508 1000 Naturally the proportion of working-class families occupying dwellings of three rooms and under is much larger. Of 1,364 strictly working-class dwellings classified according to size for the purpose of this report, 102 or 7*4 per cent, contained but one room, 785 or 57*6 per cent, contained two rooms, 410 or 30 per cent, contained three rooms, and 67 or 4*9 per cent, four or more rooms. Every tenant rents his house by a formal signed contract. This fixes the term of notice on either side, which may be a week, a month, or three months according to agreement ; it also lays down the house regulations which must be observed in regard to such matters as the washing of the floors and stairs, the

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