470 
STUTTGART. 
“ kitchen verandah ”—is quite naturalised, and few modern houses are without it. 
The balconies are mostly placed behind, out of regard to the purposes for which 
they are universally used—chiefly the airing of bedding and drying of washed 
clothes—and consist of projecting galleries of ironwork, high enough to protect 
children from danger. They are highly appreciated, and tenements which have 
this convenience are greatly preferred to others. 
The practice of building round a courtyard is not characteristic of Stuttgart. 
The back house ( Hinterhaus) is not uncommon, but it is divided from the front 
by an ample space which allows of free light and ventilation for both structures, 
and this advantage is enhanced by that plan of building on the street line in 
detached blocks which has already been noted. Often the open space at the rear 
is large enough to serve as a drying ground for so many of the tenants as care to 
use it. A common washhouse is generally provided in the cellar, though the 
tenants who inhabit the higher floors often "find it more convenient to make shift 
as best they can in the attic or even in their little kitchens. 
The customary mode of heating is by means of tall iron stoves, for the tiled 
stove is not usual in South Germany. The cooking range is likewise an iron 
structure, and as it is a landlord’s fixture it is generally of poor quality. Coke 
is the fuel used in both cases. Gas cooking stoves are, however, on the increase, 
and the tenants take to them very readily, especially in the summer months. 
The following notes may be added relative to a typical block of working- 
class tenements which was visited. The house in question consists of four 
stories (including the ground floor), with souterrain and cellar. The height from 
the road level to the roof is 52 feet, the width is 32 ft. 6 ins., and the depth 
48 ft. 9 ins. The cellar is divided into compartments for storage purposes, 
their dimensions being 9 ft. 9 ins. by 4 ft. 10& ins., and similar compartments 
are marked off in the souterrain, where are also found a washhouse and a 
workshop. The cellar is unlighted, while from the souterrain five small 
windows open to the street, being on a level with the pathway ; the height of 
the souterrain is about 8 ft. 3 ins., two-thirds being out of the ground. On 
each floor there are two tenements, each consisting of two rooms, a kitchen, and 
a corridor, with w.c. entered from the latter. The kitchens are placed behind, 
according to invariable rule, and each tenement has one front and one back 
room, the front room being lighted by a double window. The corridors are 
cut off from the small landings and are serviceable for storage purposes. The 
living-rooms on the ground floor are 14 ft. 5 ins. by 14 ft. 4 ins., and those on 
the upper stories 14 ft. 10 ins., by 14 ft. 4 ins., while the kitchens are all 
10 ft. 6 ins. by 7 ft. 5 ins. ; the height of the rooms is about 9 ft. 9 ins. 
The attic space is divided into store rooms. 
At the present time rents are fairly stationary in Stuttgart, much to the 
relief of the householders of this highly-rented town, and it is doubtful whether 
they have increased more than five per cent, during the last five years in the 
case of working-class tenements. At the same time many houses have become 
dearer without any direct raising of the rents, for with a change of tenants the 
landlords have transferred to the new-comers the water rate, the chimney cleaning 
charge, and other like obligations which beforetime had been included in the 
rent. The records of the Municipal House Bureau show that the average 
rent of one-room dwellings in 1905, taking the whole town and suburbs, with 
out distinction of locality or class, was £8 5s., and in 1904 was £8 7s. Taking 
Stuttgart proper, without the incorporated environs, the average rent of such 
dwellings was £8 9s. in 1905 and £8 10s. in 1904. The average rent of a two- 
room dwelling in Stuttgart and suburbs was £15 7s. in 1905 and £15 9s. in 
1904 ; and in Stuttgart alone £15 16s. and £15 17s. respectively. Finally, the 
average rent of a three-room dwelling in Stuttgart and suburbs in 1905 was 
£23 11s. and in 1904 £23 14s., and in Stuttgart alone £24 10s. and £24 4s. 
respectively. Perhaps the circumstance which has most powerfully contributed 
to bring about this comparative stability of rents is the growth of the suburbs, 
coupled with the increasing facilities for communication both within the enlarged 
municipal area and between Stuttgart and the adjacent towns. The rents of 
working-class dwellings are, as might be expected, slightly lower ; an investiga 
tion of 1,550 dwellings made in 1906 for the purpose of this inquiry gave the 
following as the predominant rents :—