Forsthaus Heisenküche
The forester's house Heisenküche is a historic forester's house in the city forest of Hameln , which was built between 1792 and 1794 as a forest building and residence for the responsible forest ranger . From an early age, the forester entertained day trippers who hiked to the hog mountain. Since 1905 the forester's house Heisenküche has been used exclusively as a forest restaurant .
Location and name
The forester's house Heisenküche is located northeast of Hameln at the foot of the Schweinberg. To the west of it lies the Gröninger Feld, a relic of the Gröningen settlement that fell into desolation in the Middle Ages . The Schweinberg nature reserve near the Heisenküche is a popular excursion destination when the Märzenbecher are in bloom in spring. In the forest near the Heisenküche there is an educational forest trail and remains of the Hamelin Landwehr . The origin of the name Heisenküche is not clear. Even before the forester's house was built, the location was already marked as Heisenküche on old maps. The term could come from the time of the Thirty Years War for a so-called Hessian kitchen . More probable is a derivation of the term rabbit kitchen mentioned in old documents , which describes a place where the rabbit runs into the fields.
history
The half-timbered building of the Heisenküche was moved into in 1794 by the first district forester of the Ostertor district. The forester's house served to protect the northern border of the city forest of Hameln. The Ostertorrevier was one of the three districts of the city forest with the Neuetorrevier on the Wehl and the Brückentorrevier on the Finkenborn on the Klüt . In the past, the forester's house also included stables for cattle, as the forester had the right to graze in the forest in his area. The surrounding farm buildings such as the pigsty, barn and shed were demolished in 1978/79.
During the Napoleonic wars with the siege of Hameln Fortress in 1806, the forester's house was looted by enemy soldiers. Around 1815, the forester received a restaurant license to improve his meager salary , as the forester's house was often visited by hikers due to its idyllic location in the forest. The forester's house offered afternoon coffee on weekdays and dance and music events on the weekends. Since the foresters could no longer adequately fulfill their actual professional duties due to the hospitality of guests, the city of Hameln leased the Heisenküche in 1905 as a forest restaurant.
During the Second World War the restaurant was closed and served as a warehouse because of the air raids on Hamelin . When American troops attacked the city of Hameln with strong artillery fire in April 1945 , more than 400 people sought refuge in the remote forester's house. After taking the city , the Allies requisitioned the goods stored in the Heisenküche and distributed them to Russian and Polish forced laborers in Hameln.
After the end of the war, the restaurant business was resumed in 1947. It was not until the late 1950s and early 1960s that the Heisenküche received electricity and running water. Around 1989 the building was extensively renovated.
Web links
- History of the forester's house Heisenküche
- Description of the forester's house and the hog mountain
Coordinates: 52 ° 7 '36.3 " N , 9 ° 23' 50.3" E