“Hallenhaus & Haubarg Barns in Germany, Denmark, & Iowa" at the German American Heritage Center -- September 5.
Sunday, September 5, 2 p.m.
German American Heritage Center, 712 West Second Street, Davenport IA
On September 5, the architecture and construction of traditional European farmsteads, as well as the Midwestern edifices inspired by them, will be explored in Hallenhaus & Haubarg Barns in Germany, Denmark, & Iowa, a German American Heritage Center presentation by native German Dr. Wolf Koch.
Periodic barn tours tend to draw hundreds, sometimes thousands, of visitors to the Midwest, and Iowa boasts citizen initiatives in two small towns that develop tourism opportunities by bringing existing historic German barns from the Schleswig-Holstein region to their communities. In 1996, Manning, Iowa brought a large 1660 Hallenhaus barn (Hausbarn) from Klein Offenseth to the town and reconstructed it as part of Heritage Park. A decade later, DeWitt, Iowa obtained a similar, but smaller, 1727 Hallenhaus from the village of Niebull and rebuilt it in the town's center. Both barns had been slated for demolition at their original German locations prior to disassembly and shipment to this country, followed by renovations and reassembly by local volunteers led by German craftsmen. In addition to the two original German Hausbarns located in Iowa, an extensive collection of reconstructed early immigrant farmsteads, adapted to local conditions, are located at the Wisconsin Historical Society's Old World Wisconsin open air museum in Eagle, Wisconsin.
The German American Heritage Center's September 5 presentation will provide a short overview of the farmstead and construction in various parts of Germany and concentrate on the specific Hausbarns found in northern Germany and Denmark: the Hallenhaus and Haubarg farmsteads. While both the Manning and DeWitt barns are Hallenhäuser (the plural of Hallenhaus), there are no Haubarg type barns in this country – in fact, there are only about 100 of these very large barns left in Germany and Denmark. This program will explore these traditional European farmsteads and compare them to those built later by German and Scandinavian immigrants here in the Midwest.
Presenter Wolf Koch grew up in Oberwinter, a small town dating back to 886, located in Germany's Rhine Valley halfway between Cologne and Koblenz. He arrived in this country some 60 years ago, and a decade later, he was back in Germany for five years as an officer in the U.S. Air Force. Koch has subsequently been back on business and family visits almost annually. During his childhood, Koch spent most school vacations on farms owned by siblings of both his grandfathers and became quite familiar with everyday life on small German farms. He and his wife Linnea have been frequent visitors to both Iowa Hallenhäuser and Old World Wisconsin since 1978. Four years ago, they spent part of a vacation living in a Hallenhaus close to Husum, Germany, as well as a day visiting and photographing the Rote Haubarg, which now operates as a restaurant and museum.
Wolf's previous lecture subjects have included the capturing of the Remagen Bridge and the commemoration of the end of World War II; how a mapping mistake resulted in a new republic in the middle of Rhine Valley in 1919; the 500-year anniversary of the Reformation; and the life of Hildegard von Bingen. A Sterling resident, Koch is a consultant to the oil and petrochemical industries, and has been a professor of chemical engineering and lectures on energy related topics and historical events.
Hallenhaus & Haubarg Barns in Germany, Denmark, & Iowa will be presented at the German American Heritage Center on September 5, admission to the 2 p.m. program is free for members and $5 for non-members, and more information is available by calling (563)322-8844 and visiting GAHC.org.
