Gulpen, Mechelen, Epen

The most beautiful half-timbered farmhouses are now used as hotels, hostels or restaurants. How convenient, since we can admire the buildings while enjoying a bite to eat and a drink!

In Mechelen, there are still many houses, barns, stables and baking houses where the old half-timbering has been preserved. Many of these half-timbered buildings can be seen from the public road. Sometimes you are surprised to walk into a yard and see half-timbering. In other places, the half-timbering is present only in the interior.

The construction, in which the skeleton is made of wood, stones, straw and loam, was the normal way of building houses in the Hill Country until 1850. Because the materials were available nearby, it was cheap and the Hill Country was generally a poor area.

The vulnerable loamy areas of the outer walls were protected by a loam porridge that allowed water to drain better. The foundation on which the wooden beams were placed was usually made of boulders to prevent rotting. This underside was smeared with tar against splashing water. Later, silo paint was used for this purpose.

The oldest form consisted of a collection of detached buildings, which were then also randomly placed in relation to each other.

Extensions were made by building directly onto the house. However, when the number of business premises increased, it was economically most attractive to continue ‘around the corner’. This created an L-shape, later still, with further expansion a U-shape and eventually possibly even a square. The only little building that was outside this from the beginning was the baking oven or bakehouse, this because of the fire hazard. The bakery was used by the farmer's wife herself but also by the farmers' wives of the surrounding houses. One bakery thus served several households. Along the way, you come across several bakehouses, sometimes in pitiful condition but some are still well maintained and occasionally used to this day. The bakery of Herberg de Smidse and the Volmolen are good examples.

After several major city fires, including in Aachen in 1656, timber-framed buildings were banned in many cities. However, in villages and hamlets where houses were not so close together, people continued to build in half-timbering. In Heerlijkheid Wittem, straw was banned as roofing material from 1735 onwards. Roof tiles replaced it.

Almost all windows had shutters, the main purpose being insulation. The disadvantage of shutters for windows was that no more daylight entered. So people sat in the dark in the morning. To meet this objection, people therefore made a small opening in at least one of the shutters, often in the shape of a heart.

Houses and farms were whitewashed both outside and inside. Outside, it gave protection for the mud compartments and inside, the whitewash gave a bright colour, was disinfecting and prevented mould. In general, whitewashing houses was an annual affair.

After 1850, building with brick took on increasing proportions. After all, stone walls gave a more prominent appearance to the house.
To create the illusion of owning a distinguished house, some owners even built a complete facade against the existing - timber-framed - facade.

Until the last century, farmers built and maintained the white timber-framed houses themselves. Meanwhile, for more than a hundred years, timber-framed houses are no longer newly built, but fortunately still renovated.


This Premium cycle route was compiled by our editor: Yvonne Vlaskamp.