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

Usage license:: Get license information via the feedback formular.

OSCHERSLEBEN. 399 square. Here and there buildings at the back of the courts have been converted into dwelling-houses, but this is exceptional. Turning from the court to the interior of the house, one is struck by the high degree of cleanliness which characterises the approaches of even the poorest dwellings. This is possibly due in some measure to the fact that the landlord frequently lives on the premises and has a small shop on the ground floor, so that he is able to exercise supervision over the whole house, while another reason is that the housewives each take a week in turn in keeping the common landing and flight of stairs clean. To the right and left of the street door inside the corridor are doors opening into the respective tenements. Opening one of these the visitor finds himself standing in the kitchen or living room, as the case may be, which communicates with each room in the tenement. The arrangement of a three-roomed dwelling varies ; sometimes all three rooms extend in a straight line, when the kitchen and bedroom are both very narrow ; sometimes the living room alone fronts the street and the kitchen and bedroom are at the back ; whilst occasionally living room and bedroom are to the front and a common kitchen, shared by two households, is at the back. The same general arrange ment holds good for the dwellings in the upper storeys. Often the kitchen can only by courtesy be called a room, especially in the older and cheaper dwellings. Meals cannot be taken in it as it is much too small, and the floor is usually of brick and not always very even. The dimensions vary from 6 feet 6 inches to 12 feet 3 inches long by 5 feet 7 inches to 8 feet 2 inches broad in the older houses, and 13 feet to 16 feet 6 inches long by .8 feet 2 inches toll feet 6 inches broad in the newer ones. The kitchen of a poor tenement presents a very bare appearance. A few enamelled cooking utensils hang from nails on the wall, but it is otherwise quite devoid of furniture. Neither stove nor kitchen range is found in it, but a primitive brick structure with two wells, one small and one large, covered with iron plates let into the top. The large well serves as an oven, which is heated with coke. An iron grating across the bottom serves to hold the cooking pans. It is evident that such a method of cooking can have but one recommendation, viz., that of cheapness. The coke used is the residue of the soft lignite coal, found in the neighbourhood, after paraffin and other substances have been extracted. It resembles coal dust in appearance and as it smoulders very slowly it makes a cheap fuel. Housewives maintain that they can cook everything they require for a whole week for a family of four persons at the cost of 3^d. which is the price of \ cwt. The living room in the older type of house measures 9 feet 9 inches to 11 feet 6 inches by 9 feet 9 inches toll feet, and is lighted by two windows varying from 3 feet 3 inches to 4 feet 9 inches high and from 2 feet 3 inches to 3 feet 3 inches broad. The height of the rooms in general is about 6 feet 6 inches. The tall stove standing in one corner is invariably made of iron. The dwellings have frequently a somewhat neglected appearance, owing no doubt to the fact that so many women are engaged in the factories and workshops. The bedroom in all these poorer houses is a small room 11 feet 6 inches by 9 feet 9 inches with unpapered walls, lighted by one small window, and having a very cheerless aspect. Often the floor is of cement and the ceiling unplastered. Three small narrow beds crowded together is a common sight. The more modern working-class house has precisely the same general arrangement of dwellings, rooms, court, &c., as the foregoing. The dimensions are however larger, the living room measuring from 13 feet to 14 feet 9 inches by 9 feet 9 inches to 13 feet, the bedroom 13 feet to 14 feet 9 inches by 11 feet 6 inches, and the kitchen 14 feet 9 inches by 6 feet 6 inches to 7 feet 10 inches. In this class of dwelling the kitchen floor is boarded and the room itself better furnished; cooking utensils hang from brackets on the walls, a small cupboard contains the household china, and the presence of table and chairs shows that the room is used for meals. What is elsewhere the living room now attains the dignity of a parlour, with neat polished furniture and many small ornaments. The bedroom, however, even in this better class of dwelling is remarkably bare and seldom contains more than the necessary small beds and one or two chairs.

Access restriction

Copyright

fullscreen: Cost of living in German towns

Monograph

Table of contents

Download

Monograph

This page

Image fragment

Citation links

Citation recommendation