In addition to farming, many Brilon citizens also had a small business. In contrast to the farmers in the neighboring settlements, Brilon's arable farmers had full civil rights. Brilon was a farming town until the 1950s.
How did people live in earlier times?
In Niedere Straße, you can admire the lovingly renovated houses of the farming burghers. People, livestock and supplies lived under one roof in the farmhouses. Behind the large entrance gate was the passable hallway, at the end of which was often the hearth. The hall separated the living area with the living room and sleeping chambers from the stables. The open hearth fires and thatched roofs were one cause of the devastating town fires that repeatedly ravaged Brilon in the 18th century, leaving only a few houses undamaged. The destroyed houses were rebuilt in the old style.