A forester's lodge, forester's house or forester's hut is the residence of a

forester A forester is a person who practises forestry, the science, art, and profession of managing forests. Foresters engage in a broad range of activities including ecological restoration and management of protected areas. Foresters manage forests ...

, usually one who is in charge of a forest district.

History

Woodcutters' huts are as old as

forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests, woodlands, and associated resources for human and environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands. ...

itself. To begin with, temporary accommodation was usually built for the clearing of areas of forest, but they became more permanent in the

High Middle Ages The High Middle Ages, or High Medieval Period, was the period of European history that lasted from AD 1000 to 1300. The High Middle Ages were preceded by the Early Middle Ages and were followed by the Late Middle Ages, which ended around AD ...

in Europe as more and more timber was felled for

mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic ...

, saltworks,

shipbuilding Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other Watercraft, floating vessels. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roo ...

and

firewood Firewood is any wooden material that is gathered and used for fuel. Generally, firewood is not highly processed and is in some sort of recognizable log or branch form, compared to other forms of wood fuel like pellets or chips. Firewood c ...

, in order to reduce the distance from home to workplace. The foresters could remain in an area of timber felling for weeks. With the development of

forestry rights Forestry laws govern activities in designated forest lands, most commonly with respect to forest management and timber harvesting. Forestry laws generally adopt management policies for public forest resources, such as multiple use and sustaine ...

, the profession of foresters emerged and so the forester's lodge became a place of work. In some cases, large forester's estates were created. Usually forester's houses are solid, brick-built structures that are often permanently occupied, for example as forestry administrative offices, and usually in or near settlements, while forester's huts are less well built, simpler shelters and overnight accommodation in the more remote regions of a

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

district. Even today, a forester's house and several forester's huts may be only temporarily constructed in a larger forest district, during forest management work. The development of forest tracks and logging lorries, however, has meant that overnighting on site is no longer necessary in Central Europe, but is still common in the large forests of northern Europe. Sometimes a combined site is used for

hunting Hunting is the human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products ( fur/ hide, bone/ tusks, horn/ a ...

and forestry (in Germany referred to as a ''Hegerhaus'').

Architecture

Together with hunting lodges, alm huts and other

transhumance Transhumance is a type of pastoralism or nomadism, a seasonal movement of livestock between fixed summer and winter pastures. In montane regions (''vertical transhumance''), it implies movement between higher pastures in summer and lower va ...

stations, and

mountain hut A mountain hut is a building located high in the mountains, generally accessible only by foot, intended to provide food and shelter to mountaineers, climbers and hikers. Mountain huts are usually operated by an Alpine Club or some organizatio ...

s, forest lodge and huts are among the most important settlement forms of the sparsely populated areas such as large forests or highlands, where they are not located within settlements. Forest houses in Europe have a certain architecture, that is both designed to be in keeping with the countryside and also to be recognisable for what they are . Thus they often occupy an exposed site. A

stag's head Antlers are extensions of an animal's skull found in members of the Cervidae (deer) family. Antlers are a single structure composed of bone, cartilage, fibrous tissue, skin, nerves, and blood vessels. They are generally found only on males, ...

is often placed above the entrance or on a

gable A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aest ...

. Occasionally forester's houses have a defensive character. For example, the 1812 lodge of Schießhaus in the Solling was surrounded by a defensive wall with

embrasure An embrasure (or crenel or crenelle; sometimes called gunhole in the domain of gunpowder-era architecture) is the opening in a battlement between two raised solid portions ( merlons). Alternatively, an embrasure can be a space hollowed ou ...

s.Hannes Blieschies: ''In den Sollingwäldern. Heimatkundliche Streifzüge''. Mitzkat, Holzminden, 2007, p. 78 (with illustrations). Bad Sobernheim Forsthaus Entenpfuhl.jpg, ''Forsthaus Entenpfuhl'' near Bad Sobernheim Flensburger Forsthaus.jpg, Forester's lodge in the Flensburg Municipal Forest. Försterei Glücksburg.jpg, Forsthaus

Glücksburg Glücksburg (; da, Lyksborg) is a small town northeast of Flensburg in the district Schleswig-Flensburg, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany and is the northernmost town in Germany. It is situated on the south side of the Flensborg Fjord, an inlet o ...

near Flensburg Goldenstedt Forsthaus Herrenholz.JPG, Lodge in

Goldenstedt Goldenstedt is a municipality in the district of Vechta, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the river Hunte, approximately 12 km northeast of Vechta. References Vechta (district) {{Vechta-geo-stub ...

Hasenhaege Forsthaus 2009-03-31.jpg, ''Forsthaus Hasenhäge'' near

Lübesse Lübesse is a municipality in the Ludwigslust-Parchim district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. References Ludwigslust-Parchim {{LudwigslustParchim-geo-stub ...

Forsthaus Hirschsprung.jpg, ''Forsthaus Hirschsprung'' near Berlebeck Forsthaus Ilmenau.JPG, Lodge in

Ilmenau Ilmenau () is a town in Thuringia, central Germany. It is the largest town within the Ilm district with a population of 38,600, while the district capital is Arnstadt. Ilmenau is located approximately south of Erfurt and north of Nuremberg ...

Hohenloher Freilandmuseum - Baugruppe Waldberge - Forsthaus - Ansicht von Osten.jpg, ''Forsthaus Joachimstal'' in the Wackershofen open air museum Kreyern 2.jpg, ''Forsthaus Kreyern'' ForsthausLauerholz.JPG, Old forester's lodge in the Lauerholz Forsthaus Leiner Berg.jpg, Old forester's lodge of Leiner Berg Forsthaus Oberwaiz.JPG, ''Forsthaus Oberwaiz'' ( Eckersdorf) Forsthaus - Schloss Sandersdorf.JPG,

Schloss Sandersdorf Sandersdorf Castle (german: Schloss Sandersdorf) is a castle, or stately house, in the village of Sandersdorf in Altmannstein, to the northeast of Ingolstadt, Bavaria, Germany. The present building dates to 1646, and was restored in 1900. Buildin ...

Wolfshagen Forsthaus.jpg, Old forester's lodge in Wolfshagen

References

External links

* {{Authority control Agricultural buildings Forest governance