DRESDEN.

199

(however  small)  is  scarcely  to  be  found.  Windowless  rooms  do  not  exist,  nor
are  there  any  rooms  in  which  the  height  from  floor  to  ceiling  measures  less  than
9  feet  ;  the  water  supply  is  in  the  kitchen,  so  that  water  need  not  be  fetched
from  the  landing.

On  the  whole  it  must  be  said  that  there  is  no  lack  of  cheerful  and  wholesome ­
  tliree-roomed  and  four-roomed  dwellings  in  Dresden  ;  the  supply,  in  fact,
exceeds  the  demand,  as  may  be  seen  from  the  results  of  the  yearly  count  of
vacant  dwellings  published  by  the  Municipal  Statistical  Office  since  1899.  The
following  statement*  shows  the  number  and  percentage  proportion  of  dwellings
which  were  untenanted  on  31st  October  of  each  of  the  years  1899-1905  :—

Year.

Untenanted  Dwelling's.

Total  Number.

1899
1900
1901
1902
1903
1904
1905

2,868
4,124
5,405
6,131
8,796
9,605
9,135

Percentage
Proportion  of  all
Dwellings.

3-  10
4-  33
5  51
6  09
7  21
7-58
7-08

Thus,  both  absolutely  and  relatively,  the  number  of  empty  dwellings  has
increased  each  year  from  1899  till  1904  inclusive,  and  for  the  first  time  shows  a
decline  in  1905.  To  some  extent  this  decline  is  due  to  a  falling  off  in  the
supply  of  new  dwellings  through  decreased  building.  The  number  of  new
houses  and  dwellings  built  in  each  of  the  years  1903-5  has  been  as  follows  :—

Year.

New  Houses  Built.

1903
1904
1905

No.
418
439
307

New  Dwellings
contained  in  those
Houses.

No.
4,369
4,063
2,818

Another  cause  of  the  decrease  in  the  number  of  empty  dwellings  is  the
increased  demand  for  housing  arising  out  of  the  improvement  of  trade.
Eighty  per  cent,  of  the  empty  dwellings  are  tenements  consisting  of  four
rooms  or  less,  and  it  would  seem  that  three-fourths  of  all  households  in  Dresden,
irrespective  of  their  social  status,  live  in  such  tenements.  This  is  shown  by  the
subjoined  statement  :—

of  the  number  of  rooms  stated  below.  \

Number  of  Rooms.

One  room
Two  rooms
Three  rooms
Four  rooms
Five  rooms
Six  or  more  rooms

Proportion  of  all  Households ­
  (j.er  Cent).

08
3*5
27-8
43  5
1  i\S
ic*.;

Monatsberichte  des  Statistischen  Amtes  der  Stadt  Dresden  auf  das  Jahr  1905,
Dresden,  1903,  p.  19.