“In our new house, mysterious bars in the corners of the rooms caught my curiosity… 🤔 Built in 1907 for orphans, this building seems to hide many secrets. 🤔 🕰️✨
For a while, I tried to guess their purpose without success, until I decided to do some research online. What I discovered might surprise you… 😮 And you, have you ever seen such bars somewhere? If this remains a mystery for you, stay curious: I’m about to reveal everything! 🕵️♂️⬇️
When I first moved into this old house, built more than a century ago for orphans in Vienna, I was surrounded by mysteries of the past, hidden in every corner. Wide stairs with sculpted railings, elegant arched hallways, and what caught my eye the most—curious vertical bars placed in the corners. They seemed completely unnecessary in this architectural harmony, and I couldn’t grasp their purpose.
Out of curiosity, I decided to investigate a little.
I started reading articles, browsing forums, and asking people. The theories people shared were varied: some said it was a “fashionable” feature at the turn of the 20th century, others suggested the bars were meant to support walls against earthquakes, and one person even noted they might be a primitive form of pull-up bars, where children practiced pulling themselves up.
The answer came to me unexpectedly when I stumbled upon an old architecture blog discussing similar buildings.
It turned out these bars had a very basic but refined function: they protected the corners of the walls from wear and tear.
The building was designed for children who, as we know, love running up and down stairs, without thinking about touching the walls. These bars protected the corners from cracks and damage, preserving the house’s structural integrity.”
