Unnerschlag with Pigeon Cage @museum.de

M: On either side of the hearth area, the lower pitch of the ceiling creates two cosy spaces containing a sideboard, chests and, of course, the long dining table.

F: This area under the eaves is called the "Unnerschlag" in Low German. It was where the whole family ate at a single, long table – including the maids and farmhands. Often everyone helped themselves from the same large pan. Nobody was allowed to start eating before the farmer, the head of the family. That was the rule. When the farmer had eaten his fill and put down his spoon, that served as the sign for everyone else to stop eating.

M: The space above the wood panelling in this area under the eaves was used to store dried fruit, peas or beans. The heat from the hearth fire nearby helped with the drying process.

F: There was always a fire, warming the living space and smoking the hams hanging from the ceiling. Some farming families kept pigeons in a cage as a kind of early warning system. If the pigeons sat on the floor of the cage, the air was fine. But if the pigeons sat on the top perch, the air was running short of oxygen, and there was an urgent need to open the windows and doors.