# German or European Bee House



## Brandy (Dec 3, 2005)

Hey guy's, there have been several postings showing pictures of the shed's and trailers that many Europeans have used to house their bee's. I would like to work on the shed idea for next years overwintering but can not find any of these shed's. My German is not good either. Any help out there?? Thanks,


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## beenovice (Jun 19, 2007)

Some photos :

http://www.najdi.si/search_multimed...b&tab=multimedia&contenttype=multimedia/*&o=0

http://images.google.com/images?q=čebelnjak

Some plans :

http://www.cebelarska-zveza-slo.si/Images/cebelnjak tip A.pdf

http://www.cebelarska-zveza-slo.si/Images/cebelnjak tip b.pdf

http://www.cebelarska-zveza-slo.si/Images/cebelnjak tip c.pdf

http://www.slovenski-cebelarji.com/media/Dvokapni24panjev.pdf

http://www.slovenski-cebelarji.com/media/Gorenjski24panjev.pdf


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## Brandy (Dec 3, 2005)

Hey a big thanks!! There's a few idea's there!!

There were also a couple pic's showing the inside and how the shelves were set up to hold the hives. Not seeing those here, any idea's???


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## odfrank (May 13, 2002)

Are those mostly single chamber hives?


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## beenovice (Jun 19, 2007)

Brandy : I guess the shelves are just simple shelves that hold AŽ hive. 

Some plans of hives : 

http://www.slovenski-cebelarji.com/...branovic/view_album.php?set_albumName=album11

http://web.bf.uni-lj.si/jbozic/cic/AZpanj.html


odfrank : Those are one chamber hives but with two sections - 2x10 frames. We can say 2 chambers also heh


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## peletier (May 5, 2007)

Brandy
The links provided so far refer to Slovenian bee houses , which are used to house "AZ" hives. This traditional hive opens from the back and can have one, two, or three tiers of frames. The frames are removed from the back of the hive like taking books off a shelf. They are sometimes stacked two or more high.

These hives are being replaced by Langstroths for several reasons: they are expensive and complicated to build, labor intensive to operate, and produce less honey. On the other hand, they eliminate heavy lifting, provide exceptional observation opportunities, and when built into a shed or trailer, give the bees protection in a harsh climate. The beekeeper also benefits from being able to work his hives "indoors".

Sorry if I'm telling you a bunch of stuff you already know, but if you aren't thinking of converting to AZ hives, check out this link..

http://www.taylorsgardenbuildings.co.uk/bee_house_beehives.html

The possibilities for supering don't look good but it's an idea.

****BEENOVICE....do you use AZ hives?*****


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## beenovice (Jun 19, 2007)

peletier :

thanks for explaining it. Yes those hives are mostly for AZ hives but people use it for all kinds of hives in Europe. In Slovenia there is no trend of changing to LR at the moment. People seem to prefer "shed". 

No, I don't use AZ hives. I have TBHs and hives with supers but with AZ frame not LR frame.


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## Axtmann (Dec 29, 2002)

The original Alberti hive has a brood chamber with 10 and honey chamber with 14 frames.
The Fritzel hive has a 5 frame and a 9 frame side by side for brood and a 15 frame chamber for honey.
There also different frame sizes in Germany and around Europe.

Meisterstock von Otto Schulz, Buckow
Elsaß-Lothringisches Maß von Bastian
Elsässers schwäbische Lagerbeute
Dathe Breit und Blätter
Rheinische Ideal-Beute System Schneider
Neu-Württembergisches Maß
Alt-Württembergisches Maß
Österreichischer Breitwabenstock
Wiener Vereinsständer
Italienisches Vereinsmaß
Schweizerstock Bürki-Jecker
Bösch Helvetia Blätterstock
Französisches Zentral-Vereinsmaß
Sträulis Dadant-Alberti-Rahmen
Schleswig-Holsteinische Wanderbeute
Dänische Trogbeute
Ungarische Boczanádi
Badisches Vereinsmaß

Today we have the following sizes in Germany (in metric)

-propopowitsch 50 x 30
-dadant 47 x 26 
-gerstung 41 x 26
-langstroth 44 x 23,2
-zander 42 x22
-normal- 37 x 22,3 
-kuntsch 34 x 25
-freudenstein 33 x 20

And one more: 

August baron von Berlepsch (1815 - 1876) was a beekeeper in Munich and the inventor of the first moveable frames in a beehive in 1853 in the so called Berlepschbeute.


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## Tom G. Laury (May 24, 2008)

*Bee Houses*

Are often incredibly picturesque.

Yet from what I have read & can understand, managing bees in a bee house is an art in and of itself. Dark interior, long horizontal hives, apparently impossible to keep Italians due to poor orientation, maybe like everything else in beekeeping, not as easy as it looks. I've never done it.


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## D Coates (Jan 6, 2006)

That is a completely unique and beautiful way to set up an apiary. I would love to see how the hives are worked in those bee houses. I would think they would get quite hot in the dead of summer and I don't understand how you wouldn't get bees everywhere as you remove supers or generally work the hives. 

However, I'll be the first say I am ignorant to how they function. They've been doing it there for for quite a while for some reason. They are at the least very cool looking. The British shed site gives a good description of what their interior looks like it.


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## newbeemike (Jan 20, 2009)

Wow! These are amazing! I didn't realize you could put the entrances so close together without causing a drift problem. How close can you put the entrances together?


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## peletier (May 5, 2007)

You'll notice most of these hives in the beehouses have painted fronts...some very detailed, some just different colors. That would provide some landmark for the bees. But I would think the drifting would all equal out with this many hives so close together. As for working inside...I have seen pictures of a few interiors. Some spartan and some pretty comfy. The hives have screens over each compartment to limit the exposure to bees. The disturbace to the hive is minimal ....they are literally working one frame at a time.

I saw one photo which showed the interior of a large trailer with hives in the walls. They had an extractor and a small lab in there. :thumbsup:


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## Alex Cantacuzene (May 29, 2003)

*German or European Beehouse*

Hi, well if you will search in Google or AltaVista for Bienenhaus with the "Images" clicked you will find some more interesting Beehouses. Take a look at that Beehouse in Switzerland!
If I had the time I would also translate the Regulations for building bee houses in Bavaria. We thought we had it tough. Thye even insist that the buildings blend into the surrounding landscape with no wild colors for the buiding, no fences to surround them except a low one in front of the house for the protection of hikers! And we thought we had government infringements....Ha..... Wait though until our population density will match theirs: About 1000 per square mile! Persons that is....
Take care and have fun


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## alpha6 (May 12, 2008)

D Coates said:


> The British shed site gives a good description of what their interior looks like it.


Can you post a link for this. Thanks.

Also for anyone who have run one of these. How is harvesting honey inside of one of these?


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## D Coates (Jan 6, 2006)

This was on Peletier's E-mail

http://www.taylorsgardenbuildings.co.uk/bee_house_beehives.html


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## Brandy (Dec 3, 2005)

Peletier, that was exactly the link I had been looking for and couldn't find it!!! Thanks a bunch. I don't have any interest in moving my hives into a building during the spring thru fall but I would really like to find, develop, improve, my wintering of nuc's with my new queens each year. I've been doing the nuc over the production hives and I hate taking those losses just because those small clusters just can't make it in my winters. So, I'd just like to stack 20-30 nuc's in an 8 X 10 shed (?) and try and keep that temp. between 30 -40 degrees vs. the minus to 10 degrees we can get for a period of time. Just thinking at this point.


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## peletier (May 5, 2007)

*Bee House Interiors*

I have been researching "alternative" hives for a long time. My conclusion is that there are several hive systems, lost in the dust of the stackables, which could really be useful for the backyard keeper not concerned with getting "maximum production". And why beehouses in some form have not been tried in our northern states and Canada I'll never know. Some are still killing bees rather than overwinter.


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## peletier (May 5, 2007)

Interior shots of beehouses are hard to come by....not very "picturesque", I guess. Here are a few:

http://s12.photobucket.com/albums/a217/atlanticmaster/Bee Houses/?albumview=slideshow


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## newbeemike (Jan 20, 2009)

It appears from these interior pictures that the hives are worked from the back instead of from the top. Is this correct?


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## peletier (May 5, 2007)

Yes. Totally different dynamics.


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