Quite clever, the Black Forest people: A refrigerator without electricity

 

Most of the Black Forest farmhouses are located on mountain slopes near springs. It is not uncommon for the farms to have a characteristic feature. From the spring, pipes made of wooden logs ran to a trough located not far from the main house. This trough has a wooden – rarely stone – superstructure that resembles a miniature house on stilts. In fact, it is a kind of refrigerator. It gets its cold from the flowing water of the spring, which has an almost constant temperature all year round.

 

In this superstructure, called "Milchhäusle" ("little milk house"), the Black Forest farmers could store their milk in a cool place even on warm days. In addition to milk, other perishable goods were stored there. The farmers of those days washed in the trough, since there was otherwise no running water in the house. Last but not least, the trough had the advantage that fire-fighting water was available at a short distance from the farm in case a fire broke out.

 

In addition to perishable food, grain also had to be stored in a protected manner. For this purpose, there were special granaries that protected it from moisture, especially from precipitation, as well as from pests. Such a granary must, on the one hand, ensure constant ventilation and, on the other hand, be built in such a way that the stored grain can be shifted as easily as possible.