Transkript: #3 Wöschhüsli

Marcel Anderwert

Here at location 3, you can see the so called «Wöschhüsli», a little old wash or boiling house. Originally the unwieldy flax yarn was boiled in diluted glue water in order to give the weaving threads more stability. There were several such boiling houses in the community. In 1799, 52 of them were registered. Unfortunately, they all disappeared, except for this one where you are now. Pius Steiner, the current owner, knows the turbulent history of the wash house after his grandmother bought it together with the property next door:

«Our ‘Wöschhüsli’, a former boiling house, was probably built after the first village fire of 1796. However, we do not know exactly. Our grandmother, Olga Hasler, bought the property in 1935. She used to wash the laundry from the restaurant in the cottage. She told us that every now and then an embroiderer from the village washed a fine piece of embroidered fabric there. Opposite was the first distributer of the water supply for the village. The source of the village well is on the northern hill, and this water was also used in the wash house. Even today the village fountain with the postillion in front of the house is still fed from this spring. After washing the dirty water was emptied into a drainage system built into the house. A ditch was dug, lined with flat stones, and the water drained away. During the Second World War until the End of the 1950s, the military kitchen found a place in the wash house. In 1961 the corporation of Oberstrasse proposed to demolish the house. I quote, ‘The subject of discussion was also the wash house which, as a dangerous obstacle to traffic, should disappear if possible!’. Fortunately, this plan was not carried out. Later the company H.R. Kast stored car tires and coal in the wash house. After the renovation in 1985 the library was placed there for many years. Today the house is no longer rented out.»

We now continue our tour and walk up the road next to the boiling house. On the right is the stable of the former farm and later restaurant «Zur Post». On top turn right into the Oberstrasse and walk to the so-called «Villa Erika». You will not miss it. In our village it is the only Art Nouveau house built of stone.