Dům čp. 383 House

Welcome to Štramberk, where history is inserted into every stone and every piece of wood. Right now, you're standing in front of the house with the number three hundred eight hundred thirty. If you look at it, you'll see a structure that is very modest these days, but very authentic at the same time. It's a house that tells you a story right now about what living in the outskirts of the city looked like over 200 years ago. In front of you, you can see a ground floor building with a rectangular base, which is heading straight for Lower Street. It is a typical representative of the so-called suburban development, which means that the house was built at a time when the city started expanding beyond its original main centre.

Now let's stop a little bit at when and how this house came into being. We are in the turn of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Around the year around seven hundred and ninety this building was built. Imagine Štramberk at that time. The city was gradually developing and changing. Just a short time after, in the year of these seven hundred and ninety-nine, the first brick house was built in the square, which was at that time a great milestone in the development of the city. While more modern walls began to appear in the square, here in Lower Street this house was created, which combined traditional grafting with stone elements. Although we do not know exactly who was his builder or who lived in it in the first years, it is clear that the house had to be designed to withstand difficult terrain and serve its inhabitants for generations. After a year of eight hundred, the house went through successive repairs to remain in good condition, which mainly concerned the maintenance of the wooden part and the stone base.

Now I would like to ask you to pay full attention to the architecture and details that you can see right in front of you. Look down first, on the foundation of the house. Note that the house is not on a flat surface. Štramberk is known for its hilly terrain and this house is a great proof of that. The building is built on a plastered stone suspect. This bottom part is not just for show, it has a very important function. Its task is to balance the significant slope on which the house stands so that the upper part of the building is stable and flat. If you could look deeper into this plastered lower part, you would find a valené of klen, which is an arched ceiling of stone that helps spread the weight of the entire house.

Now, if you transfer your view above, you will see the body of the house itself. It's a combination of grafted and partially walled construction. Notice the carving strains from which the grafted part is built. This is a craftsmanship that required great precision and knowledge of material. The wood was the basic building material for the inhabitants of the suburbs at that time because it was available and provided a good thermal downturn.

Look up at the roof. You can see it's a saddle roof, but with one interesting detail, which is a half album. That means the shield isn't completely pointed, but it has a slight break at the top. The whole roof is covered with shingles, which are wooden shingles, which are very typical for this area and for time. Notice also the skylights, which are the little superstructures coming off the roof. These were used to allow more light and air to penetrate into the attic, which was very important when grain was often stored under the roof or slept there.

Even though we don't know in historical records the specific names of the personalities that would be associated with this house, the very existence of the building is a story about the people who lived here. It was probably the house of craftsmen or workers who worked around the city. Imagine the morning rush in Lower Street, the sound of cars on rocks and the life of people who had to adapt to steep terrain. This house is a silent witness to the daily life of the inhabitants of Štramberk from when the city began to modernize, but it still held firmly on its folk roots.

After all, there is one interesting thing that might interest you. The whole house is now listed in the Central List of Cultural Monuments of the Czech Republic and is an inseparable part of the city's heritage reservation. This means that the State recognises its extraordinary value. What's fascinating is the combination of materials. The way the stone suspect, the carved wooden garb and shingle roof unite into one whole, shows us how smart people in the eighteenth century used what they had at their disposal. The contrast between the heavy rock below and the lighter wood above is typical of people who understood the nature and terrain in which they lived.

When you look at a house, you might wonder how they lived in a house like this in winter or summer. The grafted walls kept the heat up, but the stone base could be very cold. That's why the plastered suspect was important enough to separate the residential area from the moisture of the ground and the precipitation that was running down the slope.

Now that you have seen this unique example of suburban development, I suggest you slowly continue to explore Štramberk. This house with the number three hundred eight hundred thirty is just one of many pieces of the puzzle that makes up the atmosphere of this city. Observe other similar structures, see how materials change and houses adapt to the terrain. Every other building you meet probably tells you a different story, but they all together form this unmistakable image of the historic city.

Thank you for your attention to this house. I hope you enjoyed this brief dive into the history of suburban architecture. I wish you a pleasant further journey through the city and many other discoveries. Goodbye.