I guess it's a general concept thing. Germans build for eternity. My grandfather built a garden hut. Really, just something to hold the lawn clippers and stuff. That was in the 50s. After his death they tried to take it down with hammers and rock drills. they finally succeeded with no less than a wrecker's ball. Go granddad!

In the US I've seen many houses made of wood constructions. Germany is full of stone masonry instead. Not that it's necessarily better. It's a lot more expensive for one thing.