SOPHIE 15 is what katrin schneider and tim bertschy lovingly call home. In the summer of 2016, the two moved into the property at sophienstrabe 15. In a record construction or renovation time of only nine months, the former farmhouse was largely renovated and fitted with completely new supply lines including gas heating.
If you ask the two young people, born in 80 and 84, what drove them to embark on this adventure, the answer is clear: under no circumstances did they want to live in a "shoebox" in a new development area. An architect’s house would have been far too sterile for them, virtually without a soul.
Carefully and with a lot of expertise
The fact that her domicile in the old town of wiesentheid radiates a lot of lived past is fortunately visible at every turn. The new owners went about their work very carefully and with a great deal of expertise. It took a lot of sweat and tears to remove layers of wallpaper, sand the doors and the wooden floor, and expose the half-timbering.
But the adventure began with the clearing out of the house. They had bought not one, but two complete households, spread over about 400 square meters of living and usable space: two floors of about 130 square meters each, and several stables, barns and cellars. A total of 1400 square meters of floor space.
Gold rimmed sugar bowl discovered
Suitcases, beds and wardrobes are still piled up in the former cowshed. The current residents are enthusiastic about the fact that they always find something they can use.
The mirrored wardrobe from the bedroom can now house the dishes for the dining table and the former shoe cupboard the numerous dvds in the living room. Katrin schneider is also delighted to receive a gold rimmed sugar bowl from the fundus.
Hildegard seckinger, nee schmittner, was the last owner and lived in sophienstrabe until her death in april 2015. Together with her sister johanna and a brother-in-law, she had lived on two floors of the house.
The property was put up for sale by an executor, and schneider and bertschy, "after a long period of trepidation," as they confess, were awarded the contract they had longed for. In october 2015 they were able to purchase it. As a skilled mason and draftsman and with the help of an architect, tim bertschy was quickly convinced that the building substance was good.
Visible attention to detail
According to the archives of the municipal administration, the farm dates back to 1820. Bertschy suspects, however, that it is old because it has clear baroque elements, such as a stucco ceiling in the living room and curved door frames. The master of the house draws attention to the various artfully forged hinges and attachments on the twelve doors of the room. And he does it with obvious attention to detail.
When the couple starts to talk, you can sense their special interest in the history of their house and their joy at being able to fill it with life again. "The house has come to us," they are sure, "it fits us perfectly" and: "we still have many ideas that we want to realize. It never gets boring!"
Tim and katrin have moved into the second floor of the coarse building in advance. Here it is brighter and quieter, they say. Together with their "family members", the cats zorro and katie, they enjoy the country life in a stylish ambience.
Bands have already played in the gewolbekeller
The first floor is still waiting for completion, while the garden behind the barn and cowshed has already been laid out and the first bands have played in the gewolbekeller.
And what was the reason for moving to the provinces after ten years in stuttgart and four years in wurzburg?? Enough of city life, it should be a farmhouse! As an incentive to settle here in an old brick wall and revitalize the old town, the two had hoped for more support than just the city construction allowance of 10,000 euros to which each of them was entitled.
Since they both grew up and lived in the steigerwald community, only wiesentheid came into question as a location for them. The parents live here. This was a rough help to them during the construction phase. And also that tim bertschy has his job in wiesentheid.
The homeowners’ summary: they are glad to have taken advantage of this unique opportunity, because their freshly renovated home offers endless possibilities. It has grown with them, piece by piece.