House from Schadeck

Built: circa 1700
Dismantled: 1980
Reassembled: 1981

Regional types of settlements and building styles were not always consistent. Especially in border regions, buildings adopted architectural influences from their neighbouring regions as the small-town House from Schadeck near Limburg (Westerwald area) proves. On the road-facing side, the construction features decorative elements generally seen in Rhenish timber-framed houses: baroque diamond shaped infills and slightly curved braces with hooks. The striking green colouring of the beams matches the original findings and can probably be ascribed to contemporary tastes. Instead of being mortised into a sole plate, the corner posts are positioned directly on top of the plinth which is a typical Central Hesse construction feature.

At its original site, Schloßstraße in Schadeck, the house was part of a farmstead. The gable walls could be transferred to the museum as a whole, while only the timbers of the first floor of the eaves side could be salvaged. Part of the ground floor was reconstructed in line with findings and other comparable buildings.

Historic Village Shops
Village shops began to appear in the 19th century. When households no longer were entirely self-sufficient in producing their foodstuffs and wage labour increased, general stores became more and more important features in village life. Many of these shopkeepers sold goods imported from overseas, such as sugar, coffee, cocoa, rice, spices and tea. The small village shop inside the House from Schadeck is furnished in the style of the 1950s. The furnishings were taken over from an earlier shop and its stock is similar to that of the time after the Second World War.
View of the historic general store inside the House from Schadeck

The room in front of the shop counter was used for storing wares in sacks. When a customer entered, a bell, fastened above the door, would indicate to the shopkeeper to come from a back room to the front of the shop. The customer would be greeted and asked for their wishes. Many goods were unpackaged and were weighed and filled into paper cornets or into the customer’s own containers, or wrapped in newspaper. Women’s aprons were also used as shopping bags. If one lacked the cash, one would ask the shopkeeper to chalk up one’s debts. On top of that, the shop served as the local news exchange.

A particularly interesting object is the wood cabinet icebox. It dates from around 1900 and was used until after the Second World War. The non-mechanical container was lined with sheet zinc and contained a slab of ice delivered by travelling icemen. The ice block stored inside the insulated cabinet would have to last from the winter all the way through the summer.