Why did the inhabitants of pre-war Kaliningrad need "two-story" sinks in their kitchens?

Each people, nation, country has its own traditions, culture and rules that dictate habits and life. Today, in some districts of Kaliningrad, you can see the conditions in which the Germans lived, when the city still had the name Königsberg and was part of the province of East Prussia. Some of the houses built in the pre-war period are still preserved here, and the most interesting thing in them is construction in the kitchen, which seems to be a simple sink, but somewhat strange - "Two-story".

Why did the Germans put shells in two tiers?

The central part of Kaliningrad cannot boast of the presence of such original structures for obvious reasons. But in Amalienau, the buildings of those years have been almost completely preserved.

In one of these houses the apartment of the residents of East Prussia was recreated. You can get acquainted with the interior and way of life of the German burghers - it was in such conditions that its inhabitants lived.

In general, you can see a lot of unusual things in the kitchen, but the very first thing that catches your eye is a strange sink, so to speak, in two floors.

Today it is “Altes Haus-Hufen” on Krasnaya Street - an apartment-museum, in which once lived a family of one merchant, afterwards - Soviet families, and now - objects and memory of the disappeared city and way of life.

Of course, one could fantasize and come up with various reasons for such a decision, up to some horror films, but everything is utterly prosaic. It's all about saving. Water at that time was prohibitively expensive, and the Germans, as you know, are not particularly wasteful. In the upper bowl, it was customary to wash kitchen utensils, and not in the same way as we are used to - under running water. They plugged the drain with a plug, put the dishes in there, filled the bowl with water, added dry mustard and soda there, and then left it on for a while. Then, without even rinsing the dishes, they took them out and wiped them dry. The bottom bowl was used in most cases for urgent and quick tasks: rinsing hands, washing fruits and vegetables. With this approach, it is absolutely not surprising that already at that time (and this, you know, before 1945) the Germans had water meters - they are such an economical people.