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Farmhouse Types: Large parts of rural Austria can be characterised by 
the types of farm buildings to be found there. A rural farm building 
usually serves four purposes, for each of which there is a separate 
building or part of building varying in size: living, animal 
husbandry, storage of supplies and storage of machinery. Farm 
buildings can generally be distinguished by their layout (e.g. Einhof, 
Zwiehof, Haufenhof, Mehrseithof, Hakenhof, Streckhof types; Hof = yard 
or court).

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The "Einhof" is particularly characteristic of western Austria. All 
the required units are contained in a single building under one roof 
and are connected with each other by passages. Access is either via 
the front or the sides of the building. Generally these buildings have 
two floors. The ground floor is often built of stone, the upper floor 
of wood. In the "sekundaerer Einhof" the lines of division between the 
various parts of the building are visible on the outside, e.g. by a 
broken roof ridge. In the "Mittertennhof" of the northern Alpine 
regions of Salzburg and Upper Austria and in the broad-gabled 
"Mittertennhof" found in the area around Innsbruck the threshing floor 
is located between the stables and the living quarters. In most 
Tyrolean types of farm buildings the stables are joined directly to 
the living quarters, which can have various layouts. The "Einhof" 
types of the Bregenzer Wald region (larger windows, exterior covered 
with weather-boards or shingles, a kind of veranda on the eaves-side 
of the building) are similar to those found in south-western Germany. 
Stone-built "Einhof" types are found in the Montafon and the 
Oberinntal valley, as well as in the Vintschgau (Italy) and 
Graubuenden (Switzerland) regions. Of particular social interest are 
the so-called "Teilhof" buildings that resulted from the division of 
inheritances and can be found in the closely built-up villages of the 
upper Tyrolean areas and in the Walgau and the Montafon. The "Teilhof" 
is characterised by the fact that parts of the building are used by 
several families.

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The most important Zwiehof type is the Paarhof, which can be found 
from Vorarlberg to the eastern Alpine foothills. Its typical form 
consists of two 2-storey buildings, a living/storage house and a stall 
barn. Usually, their roof ridges run parallel and their appearance is 
almost identical. They are very popular, but show many regional 
variations: the two parts can be arranged side-by-side, one behind the 
other or at a 90° angle to each other, largely depending on the 
surrounding terrain. The types found in the west display a flat 
shingled roof, those in the east a steeper roof with the shingles 
nailed on. A regional variety of the Zwiehof in central Carinthia is 
the Ringhof, where 2 parallel stall barns together with lower 
buildings arranged at 90° angles form a closed complex.

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The Haufenhof or Gruppenhof type in all its different varieties is 
characteristic of large parts of Carinthia and Styria as well as of 
the neighbouring regions of Upper Austria and Lower Austria. The 
separation of the various functions requires a relatively large number 
of buildings of different sizes that are arranged in a layout 
corresponding to the surrounding terrain. In some areas, e.g. western 
Styria, the "Gruppenhof" takes the form of "Mehrseithof" types. In the 
"Gruppenhof" type of central Austria families lived in a so-called 
"Rauchstubenhaus" house (up until the 20%%sup th/%  century) where the 
"Rauchstube" (literally "smoke-room") served as the central room for 
cooking and living and was furnished with an open fireplace, a baking 
oven and a pig swill bucket.

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The various kinds of Mehrseithof, mostly found in the non-alpine 
regions, range from very open to regular, castle-like forms and are 
mostly built of stone. In the areas bordering the Alps the layouts 
become more irregular and sometimes develop into special forms such as 
the Doppel-T-Hof in Lower Austria, where living quarters and the barn 
tract are connected through a central, closed livestock shed. The 
Vierseithof in the Innviertel region is made up of 4 buildings 
arranged around a courtyard in such a way that the corners of the yard 
are blocked off only by gate walls or fences. All other forms in Upper 
Austria and Lower Austria show a more compact arrangement of 
buildings. The Vierseithof types of eastern Styria are completely 
closed and at the main entrance to the farmstead the roof has 2 
gables. While the other Vierseithof types are at least partly built of 
stone, the northern region of eastern Styria is characterised by a 
wooden type, occasionally also called "Ringhof". In contrast to the 
Vierseithof, the Vierkanthof (mainly found in the area between the 
cities of Wels, Linz, Amstetten and Steyr) has 2 floors and in its 
most typical form a continuous line of roof ridges and eaves. The 
living quarters are located next to the service tracts and connected 
by through passages. The barn tract, with 1-2 threshing-floors 
accessible form two sides, is located opposite the living quarters. In 
the Dreiseithof type 3 mostly one-storeyed tracts surround an oblong 
yard, closed off towards the road by a gated wall. These types are 
mostly found in the regularly laid-out villages, arranged either 
around the village green or along roads, of eastern Styria, parts of 
southern Lower Austria, of the Waldviertel region and - usually as 
"Dreikanthof" with continuous roof- the northern Muehlviertel region, 
but can also be found in scattered settlements.

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The Hakenhof and Streckhof types are typical of the closely built-up, 
regularly laid-out villages of the eastern and south-eastern lowland 
regions. They usually result from the narrow and long building lots 
within the villages, but can also be found outside villages. While in 
the "Streckhof" type the living quarters, animal shelters and barns 
are arranged in a line, one following the other, the barn in the 
"Hakenhof" type is positioned at a 90° angle and closes off the 
farmstead towards the back. The Zwerchhof type is characterised by a 
roadside extension of the living tract, positioned at a 90° angle 
and often added later on. These types of farm buildings are usually 
built of stone. Only those located outside the villages are also built 
of wood (in southern Burgenland of hardwood).

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Apart from these types of farm buildings there are a number of small 
and specialised forms for special crops (e.g. wine) and for small 
farmers and the lower classes. In these types, some buildings or parts 
of buildings may be absent, the buildings and their furnishings are 
generally simpler.

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In practice, numerous mixed and transitional forms of these types of 
farm buildings exist, resulting from general historical developments 
and from the individual histories of the buildings (alterations and 
extensions). Additional buildings (particularly smaller service 
buildings, but also living quarters for the family and the retired 
farmers) can sometimes be found in farmsteads. Throughout history, and 
particularly in the 20%%sup th/%  century, farmhouse types have 
changed constantly. New building materials became available, and the 
increasing mechanisation of agriculture led to fundamental changes in 
the structure of the existing buildings. Socio-economic changes 
(agriculture decreased in importance, hired hands no longer used, a 
trend towards second homes in the country, etc.) have also contributed 
to this development. Most farm houses built in the 20%%sup th/%  
century no longer correspond to traditional structures, but have 
developed their own individual forms.

!Literature
Haus und Hof in Oesterreich Landschaft, 1973; O. Moser, 
Das Bauernhaus und seine landschaftliche und historische Entwicklung 
in Kaernten, 1974; V. H. Poettler, Alte Volksarchitektur, 1975; 
E. Tomasi, Historische Gehoeftformen, in: Oesterr. Volkskundeatlas, 
1977; E. Lukas, Heimatl. Bauen, ein Fachwoerterbuch, 1993. - H. Mantl, 
Wiederaufbau des Bauernhofes "Wechner - Burgas", 1984; F. Moser, 
Verlorene Baukultur, 1984 (both documentaries by the OeWF).


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