Grossschrotter farmhouser, Eggartsberg near Geistthal

Built: 1395/1567
Year of translocation: 1971

The farmhouse has two storeys.The upper storey is built of logs with notched joints, the ground-floor is made of rubble.The main section of the house dates from the 16th century. On the ground-floor are a spacious entrance hall, a large kitchen and two smaller workrooms. In 1728 Urban Schratter added a cross-gabled extension which now accommodates a comfortable parlour with a traditional tiled stove. The bedrooms and storage rooms are on the first floor.The Grossschrotter farmhouse was built to a plan which was once very common throughout the area.

The main entrance is located on the eaves-side. It leads into a large hall from which all the other rooms can be accessed. At the west-facing end of the building is the kitchen with a raised open hearth and a baking oven. The kitchen was the centre and hub of family life, where all the cooking and baking was done and where the family gathered together around the big table in the corner at mealtimes.

There was also a cot for the youngest and a bed for sick members of the family. The bed had a wooden lid which could be closed when it was not needed, thus providing an additional work surface.A small corridor leads to the parlour which is much brighter and more luxuriously furnished than the kitchen. It has a tiled stove which radiated comfortable warmth on cold days without the biting smoke that would usually permeate the kitchen.The house has a steeply pitched rafter roof which is covered with spruce shingles.