The weavers hood
Around 1715, around 60 weavers, in german called Weber, lived in the town and district of Blaubeuren, apparently many of them in the small houses on Webergasse. In the basement of their houses, the so-called donk, were the looms on which cloths were made for the linen trade. Spinning and weaving brought work and money into families. The damp and cool conditions in the weaving cellar were optimal for the yarn, but had a negative impact on the health of the people working there.
The Small Big House
The Small Big House, with its hexagonal tower extension, is one of the most striking buildings in Blaubeuren's old town. The house was built in 1483 as a Catholic rectory. Shortly after the Reformation in Württemberg, the priest had to leave the house again and nobles moved in. In 1622 the house was rebuilt in the Renaissance style. The arbor extension on the south side dates back to that time. The building was originally decorated with diamond block painting, which simulates three-dimensionality through the different shades of gray in the stone painting. At the beginning of the 20th century, unimaginable conditions prevailed in the house: around 15 people lived under one roof with stable animals. It A wide variety of workshops were also housed there, such as a turning mill, a weaving mill and, in the extension, a cooperage. The owners, who were often penniless, lacked the money necessary for renovations. The Small Large House is now a uniquely well-preserved residential building from the 15th and 16th centuries and has received a half-timbered prize after its renovation by the Cultural Monument Small Big House Foundation, which was set up specifically for this purpose. Today it can be rented as an event room.
Simply bigger - the Big House
This house clearly towers over the surrounding houses and therefore rightly bears its name. Before the impressive half-timbered house was renovated in 1986, the house was in very poor structural condition. Through centuries of use and inheritance, the house had been divided into seven ownership units. The two lower floors were built in 1429 in the Alemannic style with foliated half-timbering. The Gothic wooden beam room still bears witness to this period, with its gray wooden cladding on the outside and the wicker walls on the inside that were left visible after the renovation. In 1595 the owner at the time, Mayor Matthäus Weingärtner, had additional floors added in the Renaissance style. The dimensions of the house as well as the bay windows on both sides show the special position of the owner, who was able to see the entire street up to the town hall from his corner rooms. Today the culturally and historically valuable building is available to citizens as a city library.
