The batwing doors

One of the most curious and easily recognizable elements of the house, which makes it unique, is the bat door that protects its access from the outside. With this name we refer to the half door that precedes and protects the door of the house. Of wood and with a variable top in its design it seems to reunite different functions, referred to this interested one, by the oldest of the place, in the work of field carried out throughout the years. For some it defended the house from the climatic rigors based on the frequent snowfalls that accumulated in streets and accesses. For others, they allowed the house to be aired without fear of the entry of some of the livestock that frequently roamed the streets of the town. Finally, for many, they were part of the daily chores of the house, allowing the slaughterer, from inside the house, from the doorway, to give the cattle the definitive blow that would put an end to their lives and initiate the slaughter process. In fact, in some of them you can see a curious iron ring and a hook, of the same material through which the rope that held the cattle was passed, to pull it from the inside and bring it closer to the door, thus facilitating the work of slaughter without fear of blows, goring or gashes.