Altbau

Posted by MadScientist (Düsseldorf, Germany) on 14 March 2008 in Cityscape & Urban.

An "old building", or Altbau, as we say in German, means a house that has been built before 1950. In the last ten years my wife and me were living in three old buildings, and everyone had its own oddities and impertinences.

The first one's (1947) cellar was as damp as a swimming pool and the lime was sweating out of the walls. We almost had an explosion because of a leaky gas line! Rebuilt shortly after the war, the owner skimped on concrete and used a lot of sand, so you could use a small driller to get a big hole in the wall. I named this house "sandcastle". We lived there for seven years.

Our residence in the following Altbau (1900) was very huge (>100 sqm, 119 square yards approx.), but unfortunately we had real problems with stink (Horrible! Horrible!), bugs (OMG!), noise (cable car before, railway behind the house), and an ongoing lawsuit against our renter. We lived there for two years and every day was sort of an ordeal. Don't ask me why we were moving there - must have been some sort of mental illness.

The next old building (1935) we were moving into is different: though we have some problems with mould and sometimes a rat in the cellar, everything else is just fine: it's located in a nice quiet district, we have a balcony and a very green backyard. Ironically, the youngest old building provides us with the least problems. We're living here for one year.

The row of houses you can see here is located in Bonn, seen and captured last Saturday.

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Comments (14)

Michael Skorulski from Cigel, Slovakia

The shades are so subtle and beautiful. Wonderful image.

14 Mar 2008 7:26am

@Michael Skorulski: Yes, these buildings are wonderfully restored. Many others aren't - a great pity!

Craig from Vacaville, California, United States

I love the different color they paint the houses! It brightens up everyone's day!

14 Mar 2008 9:41am

@Craig: Let's hope that their gas, water and power supply lines are in a similar fine state :-)

Behrooz Sangani from Tehran, Iran

Dim lights work here very well! Nice shot...

14 Mar 2008 10:27am

@Behrooz Sangani: Thanks, Behrooz! These buildings were downright smiling at me, so I just had to make this shot :-)

Japanalia from Yokohama, Japan

For the tourists these houses are very picturesque and so colourful! But I always thought them to be a challenge to live in!

14 Mar 2008 10:54am

@Japanalia: This corner of the city is everything but made for tourists :-) Actually, that are quite common residences :-)
The challenges - yes, there's always something to worry about in houses that are at least 100 years old. Till the 1980s this type of house was downright disliked, only few people were wanting to live there due to neglected supply lines and many other shortcomings. This changed during the 1990s, but often landlords try to avoid the necessary investments.

Laurent from Lyon, France

beautiful perspective of colorful houses

14 Mar 2008 12:58pm

@Laurent: Thanks, Laurent. However, that street lamp is a bit disturbing, I hope nobody in these buildings has his bedroom to the frontside :-)

MaryB from Staffordshire, United Kingdom

I love old houses but as you say a lot of them come with many problems.
I wish our houses were as colourful these, they seem to lift the spirits even on a dull day.
A great capture MS.

14 Mar 2008 1:59pm

@MaryB: Thank you so much, Mary! It's quite common here to paint old buildings in various colours - usually pastel colours, spanning the whole spectrum (some of them are looking quite horrible, especially the reseda greens!). Most facades are paint in just one colour, others, like these ones, have more, depending on the owner's budget. A different group is built from houses with sandstone facade: these are usually unpainted.

Jen from Alpharetta, United States

Great colors...old houses are the best, so much character and history

14 Mar 2008 4:44pm

@Jen: Hehe, and sometimes their character is just evil, I could tell you stories... :-D

Tracey from Baltimore, United States

These buildings have such a personality! Love the individual colors...like a rainbow of homes!

14 Mar 2008 6:16pm

@Tracey: That's not so uncommon here. If cities are well preserved, you'll find a lot of buildings of this type. One could think that many of them were destroyed in WWII, but no, most of them were demolished during the 1960s and 70s. Only in the 1990s they were sort of rediscovered, when people decided to return to the cities instead of moving to the countryside or into suburbs.

Ina from Krugersdorp, South Africa

Wow, great angle and wonderful colors! Thanks for the interesting information :)

14 Mar 2008 7:31pm

@Ina: My pleasure! I'm sure that your country is also filled with a lot of Victorian and colonial buildings, isn't it?

Michael from Wuppertal, Germany

Sehr schöne Häuserzeile! Ich mag diese Häser auch sehr gerne; sie haben auf ihre Weise noch eine gewisse Persönlichkeit. Wenn die erzählen könnten!

14 Mar 2008 10:57pm

@Michael: Unser vorletzter Altbau hätte uns mal warnen sollen: "Vorsicht, hier werdet Ihr verladen! In meinem Erdgeschoß war mal ein Imbiß und wenn's warm wird, stinkt das Treppenhaus nach Fett!"
Das erste mal, daß ich Kakerlaken in einer Wohnung hatte... Grusel!

Eduarda from Povoa de Santa Iria, Portugal

Look like Lisbon :)

14 Mar 2008 11:26pm

@Eduarda: Really?! Bonn usually claims to be the most northern city of Italy - and I think Lisbon is by far more beautiful than Bonn! :-)

Twelvebit from Victoria, United States

Sounds like the same kind of urban neglect and renovation cycles experienced here, except perhaps for the more extreme post-war construction shortcuts.

16 Mar 2008 3:07pm

@Twelvebit: Most of these buildings were demolished long after the war. Up to the late 1980s only few people wanted to live in buildings like these, most wanted to have a warm, dry, bright and modern residence. This changed during the 1990s and still today old buildings are highly regarded by people who are living in the city (of course only if these buildings are in the 'appropriate' district).

lucie from san francisco, United States

The repetition of the windows and lines yet all the details and colors being different really makes this shot.

19 Mar 2008 4:01pm

@lucie: Thanks, Lucie! Fortunately, I had my camera at hand. In former times, I walked along this street very often and never thought of making a photo :-)

Daily Phototherapy from Sacramento, United States

Great colors!

13 Jun 2008 4:11am

@Daily Phototherapy: Not so unusual here! But I learnt the expression 'Painted Ladies' after publishing this photo :)

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