Pastorale

Our present home

in the Lower Saxony hills

The traditional building style for farmhouses and cottages in this area is that of Fachwerk (timber framed). They are scattered all through the area. In fact, we are located close to the Deutsche Fachwerk Strasse, a kind of tourist route connecting the most representative examples of the this kind of building.

The type of house we live in, is called a Fachwerk Kotten. This word 'Kotten' is closely related to the English word Cottage. Which is not surprising as both Cottages and Kotten were built to serve essentialy the same purpose: providing a home for farm labourers and their families and a small array of animals.

Interior

Sturdy Beams

The interiors of these Kotten can be converted to delightful living areas. Beamed, high ceilings and beamed walls provide an abundance of atmosphere.

When deciding on the interior we opted to maintain the spacious feel of the main living area and refrained from introducing too many items of furniture or ornaments. Minimalist would be too stark, but uncluttered is very relaxing.

Surroundings

The larger area

Teutoburger Wald is how the area is known. Or Wiehengebirge / Teutoburger Wald, to be exact. It is a National Park of impressive size, largely a protected area made up of woodland, farmland and small villages dotted all over the landscape.

The hills where we live are a symphony of Beech woods and small patches of farm fields. This area has not yet heavily engaged in the European horror of amalgamating the fields of small farms into huge production facilities. Therefore the area is still as idyllic as in the times of Goethe and Schiller and Mozart.

And Beethoven. After all, it was his sixth symphony, Pastorale, celebrating the peaceful countryside, that inspired us to name the house thus.

Waldmark

Our immediate surroundings

Waldmark is a rather remote, rural area made up of farm fields and forests on gently rolling hills, with some farms and cottages scattered around. It is a good place to contentedly live and pursue artistic interests.

Waldmark is located in the Osnabrücker Land - in Lower Saxony, Northern Germany - a region of quaint little towns and villages, and enveloped in the peace and quiet of the Teutoburger Wald National Park.