The Umgebindehauses of Village Vilémov and Their Unregulated Changes
Abstract: Umgebindehouses (also known as Upper Lusatian Houses) in North Bohemia represent a distinctive type of village buildings, that consist of a combination of timbered, half-timbered, frame and brick construction. The face of the researched landscape, buildings and its overall vernacular architecture had been forever marked by the events after World War II, when the original German inhabitants were forced to leave their houses for good, including those of the Umgebinde family. These valuable vernacular buildings are now dilapidated, some have been abandoned, some have been demolished or have been subject to unregulated structural alterations, whether sensitive, neutral or insensitive. Unregulated alterations to Umgebindehouses are a current and serious issue in the whole area of the Czech Umgebindeland, including the municipality of Vilémov. New demands are being placed on this local vernacular architecture by the gradual development of society, resulting in its transformation and in some cases even its aesthetic degradation. The negative effects of the changes resulting from the absence of legal regulations can be seen in almost every scale of architecture, even in typologically different buildings. Not only in the case of Umgebindehouses, but also in the case of rural buildings in general, in the absence of any regulation, inappropriate reconstructions and alterations often occur, which undermine not only the authenticity of the buildings in question, but also the space in their proximity. Various modifications to these buildings are also influenced by increasing demands on the interior spaces, whether these are heating techonology demands, demands for daylight and sunlight in the living rooms, or the adaptation itself, where the building is being reconstructed for a new purpose. The aim of this article is to present the results of mapping of unregulated changes in the Umgebindehoues in the municipality of Vilémov and to present our field of study on case study objects. The data obtained in our research will be used in the context of the current topic and will contribute to the positive development of the whole area of Umgebindehouses, also with regard to sustainable development and the historical values of researched settlements.
