Farmhouse from Siezenheim

Built: 1631
Year of translocation: 1967

The earliest map showing the Stiedlhansengütl dates from 1631. The farmstead is an Einhof, with living quarters, store rooms, and byre all under the same roof. Animals were housed at the one end, and there were rooms for the family at the other end of the building. Between these two sections is a barn which extends the whole width of the building and is also wide enough to admit carts and waggons.Most of the building is of log construction, only the hall, which also houses the kitchen, is made of stone. The kitchen is based on an ancient design first used in the Middle Ages. There is no chimney, so the smoke escaped through gaps in the wooden ceiling into the loft and from there it gradually seeped through the roof. The smoke was used for drying grain and also for curing meat which was hung from the ceiling. Smoke-dried grain was much in demand because it was easy to mill, produced excellent flour for baking and was also a good seed corn. This method of smoke extraction is still occasionally found today in simple log cabins.

To the left of the hall is a living room or Stube. It has a tiled stove, which is heated from the hearth in the kitchen, panelling around the interior walls and also retains the original wooden ceiling. The items on display include a loom to remind us that spinning and weaving were once common activities in rural Austria. Next to the living room is a bedchamber. The other bedrooms are located in the loft.

The building has a low-pitched shingle-covered pitched roof which was supported on posts reaching from ground level to the ridge. This ancient type of roof construction was first described in an 8th-century Bavarian law book. Very few examples survive today. Shingles are also nailed over the outside of the rear wall of the barn.