Waldhof Silberhütte“

Landmark 10 Geopoint 12 Open Air Museum „Waldhof Silberhütte“ Charcoal Burning Black Gold Charcoal Piles Even today “Kohle” (charcoal) is a synonym in German Charcoal was required to produce the high temperatu- Charcoal piles are used for the production of charcoal. for money. The charcoal burner’s trade was held in high res needed for smelting ore. There were around 8,000 Between 20 and 30 m3 of wood is piled in layers and regard. It is one of the oldest forest-related occupations. charcoal piles spread throughout the Harz region during covered with an airtight layer of earth, moss and grass. th th th In the 16 and 17 centuries, when the mining industry the 18 century. In the charcoal burner‘s huts, known in Construction of a pile generally takes four to fi ve days was fl ourishing in this region, charcoal burning was also the Harz as “Koete”, the burners slept on hard benches. to complete. It then has a diameter of between eight • Translation: Darren Mann at its peak. Throughout the forests of the Harz, never far The master burner, who directed the charcoal produc- and ten metres. A shaft is left in the centre, called the from open water, the charcoal piles smouldered. tion process, lived in the forest with his assistants from „Quandelschacht“ (central, or heart, shaft), which is the beginning of May until October or November. Of- fi lled with brush, dry wood and old charcoal, and igni- Klaus George ten, boys began as helpers – called “Haijungen” – at ages ted. Carbonisation of the wood pile takes between fi ve as young as ten. They had to help the charcoal burners and eight days, after which it needs to cool for three with their heavy labour. “Hai” was the name for the log- to fi ve days. Only then can the burnt covering layer be ging area. Many locations in the Harz still bear names removed and the charcoal extracted. including the suffi x “- hai”, reminding us of the historical Modern charcoal production process at the Sternhaus charcoal land-use practices. After a period of three to eight years pile near Gernrode a logging area would have been completely deforested and the wood processed into charcoal. The Charcoal Burner’s Sounding Board To produce sounds that The Decline of Charcoal Burning could be heard from far and wide, charcoal bur- In the middle of the 19th century charcoal was super- ners and loggers would seded by coke, which was cheaper and was transpor- Charcoal pile of beech logs (ca. 1900) use a clapper of horn- • Printing: Hering Gravuren und Werbetechnik ted to the Harz region by train. When, at the end of beam to strike a “Hille- the 19th century, the majority of ore deposits in the bille”. This comprised a • Figures: Albert Burckhardt, 1895, privat property Göllnitz, Exhibition in the Museum Schloss Herzberg am Harz, Harz were exhausted, charcoal burning declined even Beechwood charcoal pile near Neustadt/Harz board of beech or maple further. Pressure on the devastated forests was there- hanging from two leather by reduced. The profession of charcoal burning did not straps on a frame and was disappear, however, although charcoal production dec- cement kilns. Average yearly production was around an essential signalling de- lined noticeably in the 20th century. Up until 1972, the 1,200 tonnes. As well as for barbecue briquettes,“black vice. As charcoal piles had “Schulz – Festbrennstoff e” company in Ballenstedt pro- gold” is today used in the iron and pharmaceutical in- to be continuously over- duced 400 tonnes of charcoal annually in the forests of dustries, in fi lters, as an abrasive, and as a soldering seen, charcoal burners the eastern Harz Mountains. Charcoal burning was then base for goldsmithing. For years charcoal production couldn’t simply leave to carried out by the Ballenstedt State Forestry Company has been carried out almost exclusively in industrial pass on news or other information. With the help of up until German reunifi cation. The company establi- settings using both logged and scrap wood. Only in the these devices it was possible for charcoal burners to shed a central charcoal burning location near Sternhaus, Stemberghaus Charcoal Pile, near Hasselfelde, and in communicate with each other over great distances. If Charcoal burner in front of a newly-constructed charcoal between Gernrode and Maegdesprung. It initially pro- the Harztor rural municipality have traditional charcoal burner’s hut (ca. 1900) help was needed, it could quickly be called. Conceptual design: design office - Agentur für Kommunikation GmbH © Regionalverband Harz e. V. Quedlinburg 2019. All rights reserved. Text: Dr. Klaus George, Michelle Müller & Manuela Ritter duced charcoal in steel vessels and later used fi reproof burning techniques been maintained. Exhibition area forest and mining history (Charcoal burner ca. 1900); Oberharzer Bergwerksmuseum pile); otherwise Dr. Deutsche For more information: www.harzregion.de Version Stadt Harzgerode umseitig.

Load more