Aroser sledge

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Aroser and Schanfigger sledges

The Aroser sledge is a traditional, hand-made Swiss wooden sledge in the upper price segment, which is mainly produced in Arosa and the Schanfigg and used for leisure and sports purposes on snow.

History

The Arosa sledge developed from the so-called "Allemann sledge" of the Klosters Wagner , mountain guide and inventor Peter Allemann. For its part, the Allemann sledge was based on the original local hay and transport sledge; However, it was a much smaller and lighter type of device that was provided with iron runners and was specifically tailored to recreational sports. The Allemann sledge was the main type of sled used in Arosa at the beginning of the 20th century.

Aroser Thomas Hermann made some significant changes to the Allemann sledge around 1920 and began series production of his devices, now known as the Aroser sledge. The toboggan spread quickly and was increasingly used by locals and winter sports guests in toboggan races. In the following decades, other Arosa master carpenters took over the production of the Arosa sledges, a tradition that continued until the mid-1990s.

construction

The Arosa sledge is traditionally made of ash wood . In contrast to the Davos sledge , for example , it is more massive and of higher quality. This achieves good sliding and control properties as well as a long service life. The device consists of around 25 individual parts. The two approximately 3 cm wide runners are angled slightly towards the outside on the ground, which improves the directional stability of the sled. Seven screws each fix the wide and completely flat iron fittings on the runners. The three seat slats are embedded directly in the cross struts, which results in a deepening of the seat compared to the two longitudinal bars and thus a firmer sitting position. At the front end, the fixed pull bar stabilizes the two struts, which in the older models are also screwed to the runners using angle irons and thus secured against impact damage.

The Aroser sledge is available as a single and double-seater. Depending on the version, it is up to 122 cm long and its seat is around 20 cm above the floor. The weight is between 6 and 7.5 kg. The devices are usually numbered, which serves both a certain exclusivity and theft protection or recognition. The designation "Aroser Schlitten" is protected, which has prevented uncontrolled imitation and sometimes cheap and poor quality foreign productions, such as the Davos sledge.

Production and availability

With the closure of the Arosa joinery, which was the last to master the construction of this special type of sledge, the Arosa sledge threatened to end in 1995. A Tamil refugee, who had previously found a job with this company, decided a few years later to resume the idle production of the Arosa sledges. Since then, handcrafted devices have been produced again in his workshop in Peist and now - for legal reasons - sold to order under the name “Schanfigger Schlitten”. The annual production is between 40 and 50 pieces, the price is between CHF 420 and 490, depending on the model. Older models manufactured in Arosa are difficult to find today and at correspondingly high prices.

Individual evidence

  • Hans Danuser : Arosa - as it was then (1907–1928) , Vol. 2, self-published by Danuser, Arosa 1998, p. 162.
  • Hans Danuser, Ruedi Homberger: Arosa and the Schanfigg , self-published by Danuser / Homberger, Arosa 1988, p. 112 f.

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