The ''Reihendorf'' ("row village" or ribbon development, plural: ''Reihendörfer'') or ''Hufendorf'' ("oxgang village") is the name used of a particular form of
linear settlement
A linear settlement is a (normally small to medium-sized) settlement or group of buildings that is formed in a long line. Many of these settlements are formed along a transport route, such as a road, river, or canal. Others form due to physical re ...
in German-speaking countries that is characterized by rows of houses situated along a linear object such as a riverbank, road,
valley
A valley is an elongated low area often running between Hill, hills or Mountain, mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers ...
, or
stream
A stream is a continuous body of water, body of surface water Current (stream), flowing within the stream bed, bed and bank (geography), banks of a channel (geography), channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a stream ...
.
[Dickinson (1964), pp. 146-147.]
Description
''Reihendörfer'' may consist of a one or two rows of houses or farmsteads; the latter being arranged either side of the village street. The farmland associated with each dwelling is adjacent to it, which has the advantage of saving time and reducing the effort involved in transport. The farm can be worked just outside the farmyard or within it e.g. manure can be readily transported from the cowsheds to the fields and the harvest can be easily brought in to the barns. The farmers also have better oversight of their land.
A ''Reihendorf'' does not usually have
common land
Common land is land owned by a person or collectively by a number of persons, over which other persons have certain common rights, such as to allow their livestock to graze upon it, to collect Wood fuel, wood, or to cut turf for fuel.
A person ...
.
Types
Specific forms of ''Reihendorf'' include the ''
Straßendorf'' ("road village"), an elongated village that runs along a road; the ''
Waldhufendorf
The ''Waldhufendorf'' ("forest village"; plural: -''dörfer'') is a form of rural settlement established in areas of forest clearing with the farms arranged in a series along a road or stream, like beads on a chain.Dickinson, Robert E (1964). ''G ...
'', typical of forest clearings; the ''
Marschhufendorf'', found in marshland; and the ''
Hagenhufendorf'', which runs along one side of a river.
References
External links
* Dickinson, Robert E (1964). ''Germany: A regional and economic geography'' (2nd ed.). London: Methuen. .
Rural geography
Settlement geography
Types of village
*
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