Log cabins in Upper Bavaria

There are different ways and techniques for building houses out of wood. One of these is building log cabins. Compared to other wooden construction methods, a large number of straight logs are needed to build a log cabin. This is why this construction method was particularly widespread in forested areas like the Bavarian Alps.

When building a log cabin, walls are made by horizontally stacking logs on top of each other, and stability is created using corner joints. Softwood is usually used for this method of construction, such as spruce or fir. These are comparably easy to work with, and prefer to grow in humid, cold climates, like those in Alpine zones or low mountain ranges.

The most simple type of log cabin is made using round logs. The tree trunks hardly need to be processed at all, they usually just need to be debarked. At Freilichtmuseum Glentleiten, there are a few buildings made from round tree trunks.

The inside of this Alpine building still has parts of the "Kaserstöckl", where dairymaids processed milk into butter and slept, which is made of the round logs used to build log cabins Moss was used to close and seal gaps between the timbers.

Other buildings actually wanted gaps between the logs, for example hay barns. This open construction ensured that air could flow through the building. Distances are determined by the type of corner joint selected, spacers are placed in the walls to support them.

In contrast, it's important that other types of building, such as grain stores, have as little space as possible between walls. They are constructed with particular care, and are not made from round logs, but instead from square timber. To construct a log cabin out of square timber, logs need to be laboriously shaped into squares. Generally speaking, wood was not sawn, but instead hewn with an axe. Today it seems quite surprising just how smooth the surface of the wood is.

Smooth, almost planed-looking surfaces are created using a broad axe. These axes have curved blades up to 30 cm long. Today, it is rare to use the technique of hewing logs or chopping wooden beams. Occasionally, a craftsman from Freilichtmuseum Glentleiten will give a demonstration on how to use an axe to create a beam out of a log.

The corner joints give the log cabin stability by interlocking the pieces of wood. The more tightly built the log cabin needs to be, the more sophisticated the connections between logs. But one thing they all have in common is that the logs are cut out at the ends and fit together precisely like a puzzle.

There are corners with protruding beam ends, called projections, as well as flush corners. The projection cuts in logs are made around 15 to 20 cm from the end of the block. Corners that do not project have cuts made at the very end of the wood. These ends are usually cut out in wedge shapes (galvanized blocks), but there are other shapes too.

Some of the log cabins at Freilichtmuseum Glentleiten have connections that extend far beyond pure functionality. Decorations in the shape of crosses or hearts are called ornamental or painted grain, and are a sign of the carpenter's artistry.

Log cabins have been making a comeback over the past few years in Upper Bavaria. You can find new houses built in log cabin styles in villages around Glentleiten. Some carpenters are even specialising in this type of construction.

A big challenge when building with wood today is ensuring that the house is impermeable. Log cabins built by carpenter Christian Bader from Ohlstadt need to meet the same values as a passive house. However, the original principle of horizontally stacking log and using corner joints has stayed the same.

If you would like to learn more, we recommend this book: Vorindustrieller Holzbau in Südwestdeutschland und der deutschsprachigen Schweiz. Terminologie und Systematik [Pre-Industrial Wooden Construction in Southwest Germany and German-Speaking Switzerland. Terminology and Classification] (Südwestdeutsche Beiträge zur historischen Bauforschung [Southwest German Contributions to Historical Building Research], Sonderband), Esslingen 2012.