Waldhufendorf
Encyclopedia
The Waldhufendorf is a form of rural settlement established in areas of forest clearing with the farms arranged in a series along a road or stream, like beads on a chain. It is typical of the forests of central Germany and is a type of Reihendorf
, in which each farmstead usually has two wide strips of land adjacent to the farmhouse.
This type of settlement appeared around 1000 A.D. in the hitherto unpopulated northern Black Forest
in Germany. On the generally higher, fertile, rounded summits (Kuppen) of upper Bunter sandstone, the farmsteads (known as Gehöfte, Hufe or Hube) were laid out along a road through the clearing
. A Frankish Hufe (Fränkische Hufe) came to mean a farm holding, 24.2 hectares (59.8 acre) in area. The strips of land behind the buildings ran roughly at right angles to the axis of the village up to the forest remaining on the crest of the ridge. These structures are still recognisable today.
In the 12th and 13th centuries the Waldhufendorf also became the type of village preferred by German settlers in the Thuringia
n, Saxon and Silesia
n regions. Because the plots of land were usually surrounded by a hedge (Hecke or Hag) a village in these areas was also known as a Hagenhufendorf.
Waldhufendörfer and Hagenhufendörfer are especially common in the Ore Mountains
and their foreland as well as in East Saxony
, the Sudeten and the Beskids
, as well as the Thuringian Forest
, Fichtelgebirge
, Bavarian Forest
, Bohemian Forest
, Spessart
, Odenwald
, Westrich, North Black Forest
and Nordvorpommern
.
The main axis of the settlement is usually formed by a road, but also often by a stream, on the banks of which may be found common pasture
. New settlers were given strips of land alongside tracks or roads, the size of a Hufe, which they proceeded to clear. The farmhouses were erected by a track, almost always outside the flood plain of the stream and farming was practised on the land behind them. At the far end of the Hufe was the forest or its remnants which, in the course of time, could be cleared and turned into additional fields for cultivation or farming.
Strings of Waldhufendörfer up to 25 km long occur in valleys, for example in the Saxon mountain foreland. The heart of a Waldhufendorf can also be seen in other parts of the Central Uplands
in Germany. The only Waldhufendorf laid out around the church as its village centre (in principle cake-shaped) is the village of Neuweiler
-Gaugenwald.
Reihendorf
The Reihendorf is a particular form of German settlement characterized by rows of houses situated along a street, riverbank, valley, or creek. The Reihendorf generally does not feature common lands, and can be one-rowed or two-rowed....
, in which each farmstead usually has two wide strips of land adjacent to the farmhouse.
This type of settlement appeared around 1000 A.D. in the hitherto unpopulated northern Black Forest
Black Forest
The Black Forest is a wooded mountain range in Baden-Württemberg, southwestern Germany. It is bordered by the Rhine valley to the west and south. The highest peak is the Feldberg with an elevation of 1,493 metres ....
in Germany. On the generally higher, fertile, rounded summits (Kuppen) of upper Bunter sandstone, the farmsteads (known as Gehöfte, Hufe or Hube) were laid out along a road through the clearing
Clearing
Clearing may refer to:* Glade , a tract of land with few or no trees in the middle of a wooded area* Deforestation, the clearing away of trees to make farmland* Clearing , the process of settling a transaction after committing to it...
. A Frankish Hufe (Fränkische Hufe) came to mean a farm holding, 24.2 hectares (59.8 acre) in area. The strips of land behind the buildings ran roughly at right angles to the axis of the village up to the forest remaining on the crest of the ridge. These structures are still recognisable today.
In the 12th and 13th centuries the Waldhufendorf also became the type of village preferred by German settlers in the Thuringia
Thuringia
The Free State of Thuringia is a state of Germany, located in the central part of the country.It has an area of and 2.29 million inhabitants, making it the sixth smallest by area and the fifth smallest by population of Germany's sixteen states....
n, Saxon and Silesia
Silesia
Silesia is a historical region of Central Europe located mostly in Poland, with smaller parts also in the Czech Republic, and Germany.Silesia is rich in mineral and natural resources, and includes several important industrial areas. Silesia's largest city and historical capital is Wrocław...
n regions. Because the plots of land were usually surrounded by a hedge (Hecke or Hag) a village in these areas was also known as a Hagenhufendorf.
Waldhufendörfer and Hagenhufendörfer are especially common in the Ore Mountains
Ore Mountains
The Ore Mountains in Central Europe have formed a natural border between Saxony and Bohemia for many centuries. Today, the border between Germany and the Czech Republic runs just north of the main crest of the mountain range...
and their foreland as well as in East Saxony
Saxony
The Free State of Saxony is a landlocked state of Germany, contingent with Brandenburg, Saxony Anhalt, Thuringia, Bavaria, the Czech Republic and Poland. It is the tenth-largest German state in area, with of Germany's sixteen states....
, the Sudeten and the Beskids
Beskids
The Beskids , ) is a traditional name for a series of Eastern European mountain ranges.- Definition :The Beskids are approximately 600 km in length and 50–70 km in width...
, as well as the Thuringian Forest
Thuringian Forest
The Thuringian Forest running northwest to southeast, forms a continuous stretch of ancient rounded mountains posing ample difficulties in transit routing save through a few navigable passes in the southern reaches of the German state of Thuringia. It is about long and wide...
, Fichtelgebirge
Fichtelgebirge
The Fichtelgebirge is a mountain range in northeastern Bavaria, Germany. It extends from the valley of the Red Main River to the Czech border, a few foothills spilling over into the Czech Republic. It continues in a northeastern direction as the Ore Mountains, and in a southeastern direction as...
, Bavarian Forest
Bavarian Forest
thumb|The village of Zell in the Bavarian ForestThe Bavarian Forest is a wooded low-mountain region in Bavaria, Germany. It extends along the Czech border and is continued on the Czech side by the Šumava . Geographically the Bavarian Forest and Bohemian Forest are sections of the same mountain range...
, Bohemian Forest
Bohemian Forest
The Bohemian Forest, also known in Czech as Šumava , is a low mountain range in Central Europe. Geographically, the mountains extend from South Bohemia in the Czech Republic to Austria and Bavaria in Germany...
, Spessart
Spessart
The Spessart is a low mountain range in northwestern Bavaria and southern Hesse, Germany. It is bordered on three sides by the Main River. The two most important towns located at the foot of the Spessart are Aschaffenburg and Würzburg....
, Odenwald
Odenwald
The Odenwald is a low mountain range in Hesse, Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg in Germany.- Location :The Odenwald lies between the Upper Rhine Rift Valley with the Bergstraße and the Hessisches Ried in the west, the Main and the Bauland in the east, the Hanau-Seligenstadt Basin – a subbasin of...
, Westrich, North Black Forest
Black Forest
The Black Forest is a wooded mountain range in Baden-Württemberg, southwestern Germany. It is bordered by the Rhine valley to the west and south. The highest peak is the Feldberg with an elevation of 1,493 metres ....
and Nordvorpommern
Nordvorpommern
Nordvorpommern was a Kreis in the northern part of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. The district was created in 1994 by merging the three previous districts Grimmen, Ribnitz-Damgarten and Stralsund. On 4 September 2011, it was merged to Vorpommern-Rügen.It was situated at the coast of the Baltic...
.
The main axis of the settlement is usually formed by a road, but also often by a stream, on the banks of which may be found common pasture
Pasture
Pasture is land used for grazing. Pasture lands in the narrow sense are enclosed tracts of farmland, grazed by domesticated livestock, such as horses, cattle, sheep or swine. The vegetation of tended pasture, forage, consists mainly of grasses, with an interspersion of legumes and other forbs...
. New settlers were given strips of land alongside tracks or roads, the size of a Hufe, which they proceeded to clear. The farmhouses were erected by a track, almost always outside the flood plain of the stream and farming was practised on the land behind them. At the far end of the Hufe was the forest or its remnants which, in the course of time, could be cleared and turned into additional fields for cultivation or farming.
Strings of Waldhufendörfer up to 25 km long occur in valleys, for example in the Saxon mountain foreland. The heart of a Waldhufendorf can also be seen in other parts of the Central Uplands
Central Uplands
The Central Uplands is one of the three major natural regions of Germany and covers most of the land area of the country. To the north lies the North German Plain or Northern Lowland; to the south, the Alps and the Alpine Foreland.- Formation :...
in Germany. The only Waldhufendorf laid out around the church as its village centre (in principle cake-shaped) is the village of Neuweiler
Neuweiler
Neuweiler is a town in Germany, located in the Calw district and region of Karlsruhe of Baden-Württemberg. It is crossed by two rivers, the Enz and the Teinach.-External links:*...
-Gaugenwald.
Sources
- Krüger, Rainer: Typologie des Waldhufendorfes nach Einzelformen und deren Verbreitungsmustern. In: Göttinger geografische Abhandlungen, Heft 42, Göttingen 1967
- Langer, Joh.: Heimatkundliche Streifzüge durch Fluren und Orte des Erzgebirges und seines Vorlandes, Schwarzenberg 1931