Barouche

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Early Barouche (around 1810)
Barouche with a suspended car body on a royal occasion with Princes William and Henry of Wales in 2009
A white barouche at the "MESAP" trade fair in Nedelišće near Čakovec , Croatia (2016)

The Barouche is a luxurious, four-wheeled, open, two-horse carriage. It is driven by a coachman on a high seat. In the course of further development, the Barouche became more delicate; later versions have a boat-shaped body that is suspended from steel springs and leather straps for better suspension. It contains two bench seats for a total of four passengers who sit opposite one another. There is a folding top for the rear bench. Not all barouches have doors to the rear.

The Barouche, like the smaller Barutsche , is a further development of the Kalesche . The vehicle type originated in France towards the end of the 18th century and was also widespread in Great Britain and Germany .

For its owner, the vehicle was above all a prestige object and a status symbol . Accordingly, it was built using high-quality materials, was well- sprung and comfortably equipped. The mostly elaborate paintwork was often supplemented by a coat of arms or monogram. The Barouche was used both for official occasions of high-ranking personalities as well as their walks and pleasure trips. It is not a touring car and, depending on its purpose, offers hardly any possibilities to carry luggage.

The barouche reached its peak as a status symbol in the 1830s to 1840s and then gradually went out of fashion. Barouches are still used today by royal and aristocratic families for parades; they were also always an obvious choice for wedding trips and are used for tourism in some cities.

The term was rarely used in early automotive engineering. Here he referred to a version of the Landaulet de Ville with an open chauffeur compartment and a closed rear with two bench opposite one another; Above the rear one, the roof could be opened with a folding roof. This design lasted significantly longer than the name Barouche .

literature

  • James W. Burgess: A practical treatise on coach-building, historical and descriptive; containing full information on the various trades and processes involved, with hints on proper keeping of carriages, & c. Crosby Lockwood & Co., Stationer's Hall Court, Ludcate Hill 1881. (Reprinted by Nabu Press, 2010, ISBN 978-1-149-50420-8 ) (English)
  • Jonathan Wood: Coachbuilding - The hand-crafted car body. Shire Publications, 2008, ISBN 978-0-7478-0688-2 . (English)

Web links

Commons : Barouches  - collection of images, videos and audio files