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Wirtschaft und Hofraum

English translation: farm and courtyard

11:40 Jun 9, 2003
German to English translations [PRO]
Law/Patents / historical
German term or phrase: Wirtschaft und Hofraum
From a solicitor's letter of 1938:

Ich übersende Ihnen den Kaufvertrag, womit Sie Ihre Anteile an der Wirtschaft Haus Nr. 102 und den von Ihnen von Ihrer Gattin gekauften Hofraum an XXX verkaufen.

Can I be certain that Wirtschaft refers here to a farm or smallholding (and not, for example, to a pub or some other form of business?. And in that case is the Hofraum just "land" or is it "farm buildings"? (Sorry, two question in one I know, but they're closely related). Nothing else in the letter sheds any light on what is involved.
Armorel Young
Local time: 01:24
English translation:farm and courtyard
Explanation:
Yes, I think it's a farm. The farm house has an inner courtyard. I did a translation once about farms in the Sudetenland and this was the typical setup.

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Note added at 2003-06-09 11:49:14 (GMT)
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On second thought I think it should be farmhouse and courtyard.

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Note added at 2003-06-09 13:16:23 (GMT)
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This is from the local history that I translated. I also think it\'s strange that the Hofraum was bought separately, but I can imagine that the previous owner had used only the living quarters and may have sold the Hofraum to a farmer.

Mittelfränkischer Vierkanthof - Wohn- und Wirtschaftsgebäude liegen um einen Hof, der zur Straße meist durch Mauer und Tor abgeschlossen ist.
Der meist rechteckige Hofraum war vorn abgeschlossen durch Mauer und Tor.
Selected response from:

Kim Metzger
Mexico
Local time: 18:24
Grading comment
Thank you, everyone, for comments. I think that Kim is probably right and that it is most likely a farm and yard, but other people's comments confirm that we can't be certain of this, so I shall err on the safe side and simply call it a house in the translation, with a footnote that it may well be a farm.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
3 +1farm and courtyard
Kim Metzger
4house and courtyard
Gisela Greenlee
1 +1continued comment
Heike Behl, Ph.D.


  

Answers


4 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +1
farm and courtyard


Explanation:
Yes, I think it's a farm. The farm house has an inner courtyard. I did a translation once about farms in the Sudetenland and this was the typical setup.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 2003-06-09 11:49:14 (GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

On second thought I think it should be farmhouse and courtyard.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 2003-06-09 13:16:23 (GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

This is from the local history that I translated. I also think it\'s strange that the Hofraum was bought separately, but I can imagine that the previous owner had used only the living quarters and may have sold the Hofraum to a farmer.

Mittelfränkischer Vierkanthof - Wohn- und Wirtschaftsgebäude liegen um einen Hof, der zur Straße meist durch Mauer und Tor abgeschlossen ist.
Der meist rechteckige Hofraum war vorn abgeschlossen durch Mauer und Tor.


    Langenscheidt Muret-Sanders
Kim Metzger
Mexico
Local time: 18:24
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in pair: 22192
Grading comment
Thank you, everyone, for comments. I think that Kim is probably right and that it is most likely a farm and yard, but other people's comments confirm that we can't be certain of this, so I shall err on the safe side and simply call it a house in the translation, with a footnote that it may well be a farm.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  Hans G. Liepert: it may be a tavern/pub with a yard as well, what makes you so sure it is a farm (Landwirtschaft) and not a tavern (Gastwirtschaft)?
55 mins
  -> I'm not sure. I translated a history of a village in the Sudetenland. Around 1938 the inn was referred to as a Gasthaus and the farmsteads were called Wirtschafte.
agree  Margaret Marks: Might be farmhouse and farmyard. I just had the Wirtschaftshof at the monastery in Wessobrunn, and Wirtschaftsgebäude is the normal term for farm.
2 hrs
neutral  Heike Behl, Ph.D.: I
3 hrs
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1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
house and courtyard


Explanation:
According to wordreference, an oldfashioned meaning for Wirtschaft was simply house, so in this context, without knowing that it was used for a specific purpose, maybe house would suffice.

Gisela Greenlee
Local time: 19:24
Native speaker of: German
PRO pts in pair: 2073
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3 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 1/5Answerer confidence 1/5 peer agreement (net): +1
continued comment


Explanation:
must have hit the wrong key...

Continuation of my comment to Kim's answer: I'm not sure that farmsteads would be refered to by a house number but rather by parcel/lot number.

Heike Behl, Ph.D.
Ireland
Local time: 01:24
Native speaker of: Native in GermanGerman
PRO pts in pair: 904

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Kim Metzger: You could well be right, Heike. My source of info is restricted to a tiny village in 1938 or so. Each Wirtschaft was a house with a Hofraum. The fields were in the outlying areas.
1 hr
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