The Beginnings – A New Home in 1799

If you imagine the village street of Roikier around the year 1799, you would see scattered cottages among hedgerows and fields, thatched roofs bowing under the wind from the nearby sea, and smoke rising from the bakehouses. Into this world came the cottager Asmus Paulsen.

Born in 1768 in Habernis, Paulsen had recently married Christina Maria Matthiesen. Young, energetic, and hopeful for a home of his own, he purchased a small plot of land in Kalleby in 1798. The following spring, he built a new house here “near Philipsthal”: a nine-bay thatched building, typical of the region, combining living room, kitchen, stable, and barn under a single roof. Such a house was more than just shelter; it was living space for people and animals, a workplace, sleeping quarters, and the center of family life.

When his daughter Christina Margareta was born in July 1799, the move into the cottage was complete. Thus began the family’s history on this plot of land, a history that would last more than 150 years.

A Farm Grows with Its People

The cottage was simple, but for the time, solid. By 1820 it was insured with the local fire guild — a sign that it was considered a valuable possession. Next to it stood a three-bay bakehouse. Here, bread was baked not only for the family itself: often, the entire village smelled of fresh bread, and baking days became social occasions that brought neighbors together.

Asmus Paulsen himself experienced an almost biblical lifespan. He died in 1864, nearly 96 years old. His wife had passed away many years earlier, but he had the comfort of knowing that his life’s work was in the hands of his children.

Hans Hinrich Paulsen, the Weaver

It was his son Hans Hinrich, born in 1804, who took over the cottage in 1829. A weaver by trade but also a farmer, he guided the farm through a period of change. Under his management, the bakehouse was expanded to six bays — enough to supply the growing family.

Life on the farm was hard, but also marked by the small rituals of rural life: milking cows at dawn, threshing in winter, spinning and weaving during long evenings.

In 1840, Hans Hinrich married Mette Catharina Dose from Wolsroi. They had three children. Their daughter Mette Catharina would later become a key figure in the history of the cottage.

The Era of the Lucassen Family

In 1868, Mette Catharina Paulsen married carpenter Jacob Lucassen, bringing new craftsmanship to the farm. Jacob built a larger, ten-bay house and replaced the old bakehouse with a tiled-roof version — a reflection of the modernization of rural building practices.

Tragically, this period of prosperity was short-lived. In 1883, Jacob Lucassen died as the result of a work accident. His wife was left with nine children, the youngest born after the father’s death. Despite these hardships, each child grew into an independent, capable adult — a quiet yet impressive tribute to their mother.

Among them, Matthias stood out: in 1894, he took over the cottage and continued the family legacy.

The 20th Century – Continuity and Change

With Matthias and his wife Helene Christine, a new era began. Rural life remained demanding, but progress was underway: machines replaced hand labor, new currencies supplanted the old, and the cottage itself became part of a world in flux.

Their daughter Meta Margaretha married Julius Eduard Otto Blunck, a trained administrator, in 1924. Under his stewardship, the cottage was not only preserved but also expanded: land purchases, new leases, and solid management gave the farm a modern face.

Even in the difficult years before and after World War II, the Blunck children — Günter, Walter, and Bruno — remained rooted on the farm, carrying the family story into the present.

The Cottage as a Mirror of Time

Over more than a century and a half, the thatched cottage of Roikier has told not only the story of a single family, but also of rural life in Schleswig-Holstein. It has witnessed times of upheaval, hardship, grief, and growth.

The building, once simple and functional, bears the marks of generations who, with labor and dedication, transformed a humble straw-roof house into a living family home. Today, standing before the cottage, one might still sense echoes of the past: the smell of freshly baked bread, the creak of beams in the wind, and the voices of those who lived, loved, and worked here — passing down what had been entrusted to them.