German Heritage in Banat Villages - The Origin, Development, and Modalities of the Country House with Yard

Abstract

In the eighteenth century Habsburg monarchy was inhabited territory of the Banat, in order to modernize and homogenize the area in political, economic, and civilization sense. One of the main goals of colonization was to increase the German population in the southern parts of Hungary. About German dominance in Banat, until the Second World War, today testify a rich tangible and intangible rural heritage. Already in The main instructions about population (Impopulations Hauptinstruktions), Maria Theresa was defined shape, appearance and dimensions of public and private buildings, in order to unify the diversity in every field of life. Rural yard is a fundamental element of the planning lowland villages. The primary function of rural yard is to unite different built structures, areas and devices necessary for the peasant's life and work. The longitudinal yard, by narrow side oriented towards the street, was divided into three parts - housing and keeping cattle area, grain processing area and orchard. Original functions of rural yard remained unchanged to the present day, but its contents, shapes, spatial relationships have changed. This paper is structured as a review of the historic and social framework, toward reinterpretation of the origin, development, analogy, and modalities of country house, barn, corn storage, and stables in Banat villages. The aim of research is consideration of the specific German rural heritage and determination of its place and importance in the history of rural architecture in Vojvodina.