Architecture and buildings

A wide variety of building materials and structural designs can be found at the Open-Air Museum Ballenberg. Wood was used for timber constructions, post-and-beam constructions and half-timbering. Solid buildings were constructed using quarry stones, pebbles from rivers, cut stone and bricks. Wood can also be found in these buildings where it’s used for ceiling beams, floorboards and panelling. Limestones were fired and used as masonry mortar and plaster.

The interiors of the dwellings and farmhouses show how indoor temperatures were skilfully handled. Living rooms were usually south facing, the tiled stoves were mostly placed in the middle of the house and so heated the parlour and the adjoining rooms. Stoking holes at the top of the tiled stove allowed the heat to rise up to the bedrooms on the first floor. The smokehouses were mainly open until under the roof, so that the smoke could rise and also be used for smoking items. Shutters were used in front of the windows – for the purpose of darkening the room, but also as another layer of insulation. In addition to hinged shutters, pull and drop shutters were used.

In the museum’s grounds there are several industrial buildings related to the building trade: a brickyard, a lime kiln, a sawmill and a rope factory. Bricks and tiles were used for masonry, vaults, brickwork and roofing. The availability of clay as a raw material was important for production. Lime was used for mortar and plaster and was also used as a coating in wooden buildings. Water-powered saws are found as early as the late Middle Ages, but became increasingly widespread in the 19thcentury. Sawn boards were used for floors, wall panelling and facade cladding panels. Construction ropes were needed to lift and transport building components.