Weekend house
A weekend house is a house , a little house or a hut that was built in a rural location in order to be able to spend the weekend or vacation there. Some weekend houses are in particularly beautiful places, for example on a hillside with a beautiful view (panoramic view, lake view, sea view, mountain view), with lake or sea property, on a watercourse, in a local recreation area or in a tourist area.
Characteristic
In sparsely populated areas (e.g. in the Scandinavian countries) it is common for weekend houses to be isolated. On the edge of densely populated areas, on the other hand, one can often find settlements of weekend houses. Sometimes these settlements have changed their character over time when many residents moved there completely (e.g. Venekotensee , Hariksee ).
Entire settlements of these refuges are being built in the indirect retreat areas of large urban agglomerations . Sometimes the dense development or growth of such a settlement compromises the originally intended seclusion.
From the garden house of the allotment gardener himself Cottages distinguished primarily by their size. They almost always have permanent sanitary facilities of modern standards, gas and electrical connections and a complete kitchen . In contrast to allotment garden colonies, there are usually no planting regulations.
Alternatives to the weekend house are caravans , mobile homes (larger than a caravan, pro forma has a chassis, but because of its large width must be transported by low loader) and mobile homes .
All of them have the advantage that you can store things there and use or have familiar items (e.g. “your own bed”) around you.
Due to their location away from actual settlements, weekend houses are subject to special restrictions in building law; in the past, houses of this type were often built without obtaining a permit. Demolition can also be required after decades, particularly in areas that are sensitive to the landscape. It should also be noted that weekend houses are usually not allowed to be used as the main residence, which can also lead to conflicts if, over time, possibly with extensions and expansion, a former weekend house is used as a normal single-family home.
Examples
Typical weekend house areas can be found in Europe in Scandinavia : Stugas near Stockholm in the archipelago , on Lake Mälaren or Hytten in the vicinity of Oslo , whereby in these two countries in particular often inherited houses and huts, which were formerly inhabited all year round, are being converted. In Finland there are very simply built Mökkis with saunas. A typical area in the US is Vermont , where many wealthy residents of the neighboring states of New York and New Jersey use weekend homes. In times of the GDR - and beyond - there was also a characteristic archetype of the weekend house with the so-called dacha ; the term was borrowed from the Russian dacha . In the Czech Republic, too, many city dwellers have a “chata” ( hut ) or “chalupa” ( farmhouse ) in the countryside. In Poland , holiday homes in Masuria are enjoying growing popularity , especially among wealthy residents of Warsaw .
From weekend to holiday home
Some owners rent their weekend houses as holiday homes to holidaymakers on a seasonal basis . This is more common in Scandinavia and the Netherlands than in other countries. Some owners come so on the money for maintenance of the building. In addition to income tax, depending on the situation, trade tax may also apply.
Others
Weekend houses in a few villages have a high prestige value .
Well-known examples are Kampen on Sylt , numerous winter sports resorts in the Alps (Davos, Kitzbühel and many others) and Vermont. In Berlin-Wannsee there is a villa colony that was built from 1870 and was unique in the German Empire and the Weimar Republic.
