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 sometimes
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
