1847 The Old Dyer's House

Sommerfrische's timber-framed house on the Oberpfuhl, which everyone in Lychen knows as the "Färberhaus" ("Dyer's House"), was built around 1750. However, it only got its name about 100 years later, when it became a linen dyeing factory in 1847.

At that time there were more than 20 different linen weavers and cloth makers in the town. They laid out their freshly woven textiles for bleaching on the lakeside (between Mühlengraben and Stargarder Tor, where the promenade runs today) and later brought them to the small lake house. There, colours were mixed in large copper kettles and applied with the use of patterns and stencils. The finished printed linen was hung up to dry in the attic.

The linen dye works had a good reputation and sold its goods at markets in Prenzlau, Strelitz and Neubrandenburg. Actually, Lychen must have been known in the region at that time mainly because of the dye works. It is said that Lychen people, when traveling, were often asked the question: "Is he ut de Farw?", meaning "Are you from the dye works?"