No. 381
The craftsman’s house from Herzogenbuchsee documents the transition from the farmhouse to the town house. It makes an important contribution to the history of the pre-industrial and early industrial eras.

In the 18th century, the rural middle class in the Upper Aargau region was made up of small entrepreneurs and textile craftsmen. Already in the 17th century, linen weaving had already grown into the most important source of income alongside agriculture. It was practised at home as wage work, as can be seen in the smaller parlour of the farmhouse from Madiswil BE (No. 321) as well as in the weaving cellars of the houses from Eggiwil BE (No. 351) and Wattwil SG (No. 931). Around 1770 the rural linen weavers came under heavy competitive pressure and the small entrepreneurs who had previously dominated this branch of industry had to seek other fields of production.
One of them was Johann Jakob Baur, a citizen of Herzogenbuchsee. In May 1777 he applied to the governing authorities and to the municipality for permission to build a new craftsman’s house. He chose an old sand pit outside the village, directly beside the newly-built highway from Berne to Zurich, for the location. The application caused a major stir, and it was only with the support of influential friends that Johann Jakob Baur obtained his building permit.

The building owner combined the conventional ground plan of a smallholder’s living quarters with square, well-lit work rooms. In contrast to other houses of this period whose inhabitants were engaged in home work or cottage industries, the living and working quarters are already separate.

His house also differs fundamentally from the normal pattern formerly followed by farmhouses and town houses in Upper Aargau. It is no longer exclusively a frame and plank structure but is predominantly half-timbered. Large windows admit light to the interior. The steep-pitched hipped roof is covered with tiles. The building, in clear contrast to the low farmhouses that weathered to a brown colour, has an undeniable elegance. Many costly features, such as floors with hardwood inlays and magnificent tile ovens, hint at the wealth of the former inhabitants.
In the documents relating to the construction of the building, Johann Jakob Baur describes him-self as a “hose knitter”, and in fact, stockings could have been made in this house for a long period.
Both main stories have the same floor plan. Transverse passages separate the workshops from the living quarters. Despite its modern appearance, many aspects of this house still seem old-fashioned.
It lacks an indoor staircase, for instance, and the parts that counted less for a show of status are in frame and plank construction. A cellar with sandstone vaulting is located beneath the living quarters. The interior and exterior colour scheme is based on a careful study of the original paintwork. For many visitors the main attraction of this house is the «Historical Pharmacy» installed on the ground floor.