mm

212

DUSSELDORF.

FS

k

a

For  the  great  majority  of  working-class  families  in  Düsseldorf  the  dwelling
consists  of  two  or  else  three  rooms,  viz.,  a  kitchen  and  general  living  room,  and
one  or  two  bedrooms.  Of  the  dwellings  enumerated  in  December,  1905,  it  was
found  that  54  1  per  cent,  contained  the  accommodation  stated  below,  viz.,  one,
two,  or  three  rooms  of  all  kinds,  though  from  this  classification  are  excluded
1,007  dwellings  stated  to  consist  of  an  undefined  number  of  habitable  attics
(Mansarden)  or  rooms  not  regarded  as  living-rooms  in  the  technical  sense  :—

One
room.

1  habitable  attic
1  living-room,  without  habitable  attic  or  appurtenances ­
  ...  ...  ...  ...  ...  ...
Two  I  ]  living-room  with  habitable  attic
rooms  1  ^  living-rooms  without  habitable  attic  or  other
'  (  appurtenances
Three  i  2  living-rooms  with  habitable  attic
rooms.  (  3  living-rooms  without  attic  or  appurtenances  ...

Number.

Per  cent,  of  the
whole.

5  0

1

In  a  house  consisting  of  any  given  number  of  tenements  the  arrangement  of
the  latter  and  to  some  extent  the  arrangement  and  size  of  the  rooms  composing
the  various  tenements  are  not  quite  the  same  on  the  ground  floor  as  on  the
upper  floors.  In  the  case  of  two-roomed  tenements  the  most  common  arrangement ­
  on  the  ground  floor  may  be  illustrated  by  a  house  in  Herrmannstrasse,  a
typical  working-class  street.  This  floor  contains  three  tenements  of  two  rooms
each—bedroom  and  kitchen.  Two  of  these  tenements  are  on  the  left,  and  one
is  on  the  right  side  of  the  main  entrance  to  the  house.  Each  of  the  rooms  of
the  tenement  on  the  right  has  a  door  opening  on  to  the  main  entrance.  To  the
first  tenement  on  the  left  there  is  access  either  direct  from  the  main  entrance
or  through  a  corridor  on  the  left,  which  is  the  only  means  of  reaching  the
second  tenement.
On  the  first  and  second  floors  of  the  same  house  we  again  find  one
tenement  on  the  right  and  two  on  the  left  side  facing  the  stairs.  The  tenement
on  the  right  hand  corresponds  exactly  to  that  on  the  ground  floor  on  the  same
side,  but  the  front  room  of  each  of  the  left-hand  tenements  is  larger  than  the
corresponding  room  below,  one  of  them  being  larger  by  about  the  width  of  the
lower  main  entrance.  On  each  floor  are  two  w.c.’s  for  the  use  of  three  families.
(In  the  houses  of  more  recent  construction  there  is  one  for  each  family.)  At
the  back  is  a  large  court  for  the  common  use  of  the  tenants.
A  modification  of  the  two-room  tenements  just  described  is  seen  in  a  large
number  of  houses  in  the  Birkenstrasse—another  typical  working-class  street.
Here  we  may  find  a  two-room  tenement  on  either  side  of  the  entrance  passage,
with  direct  access  from  that  passage  to  each  room.  The  purpose  of  this  arrangement ­
  is  that  the  whole  of  the  rooms  may,  if  necessary,  be  let  as  one  tenement.
Between  each  two  houses  is  an  archway  with  a  solid  wooden  gate,  which  gives
access  to  a  grass-covered  courtyard  at  the  back.
On  reaching  the  first  or  second  floor  landing  of  the  same  houses  we  find
the  entrance  to  a  two-room  tenement  on  the  left  (corresponding  to  the  two
rooms  on  the  right  of  main  entrance  on  the  ground  floor),  while  on  the  opposite
side  of  the  landing  we  enter  a  three-room  tenement,  of  which  two  rooms  face
the  main  street  and  one,  which  is  generally  used  as  the  kitchen,  looks  upon  the
courtyard.  This  tenement  may  also  be  entered  by  a  door  at  the  top  of  the
stairs,  the  purpose  being  that  this  room  may,  on  occasion,  be  let  singly.
The  general  impression  produced  by  an  inspection  of  the  interiors  of  a
large  number  of  modern  tenements  in  the  working-class  districts  of  Düsseldorf
was  one  of  spaciousness,  combined  with  cleanliness  and  comfort.  The  usual
height  of  the  rooms  on  the  ground  floor  was  from  12  feet  to  12  feet  6  inches,  and
on  no  story  were  they  less  than  10  feet  high.
The  only  part  of  the  town  in  which  the  housing  can  be  regarded  as
unequivocally  bad  is  the  Alte  Stadt  or  Old  Town.  Most  of  the  old  houses  here
are  very  faulty,  alike  in  the  ventilation  and  lighting  of  their  approaches—
courtyards,  staircases,  corridors  and  vestibules—and  in  the  cubical  contents  of
their  rooms.  These  dwellings  often  consist  of  narrow  rooms,  much  dilapidated
and  badly  needing  both  light  and  air,  for  the  windows  are  small  and  open  upon