Village scales

Wackershofen Open Air Museum Viehwaage Rauhenbretzingen

A village scales or community scales are usually large, drivable, often built over, public scales , the purpose of which is to weigh harvest yields or natural products in general . Their weighing range goes from a few kilograms to several tons in the low double-digit range.

The village scales were partly looked after by a specially appointed weighing foreman. Depending on the application, village scales are also known as cattle scales or more generally as floor scales. The protective building is called a weighing or weighing house. The weighing platform was mostly a construction made of wooden planks on an iron frame construction, more modern designs can also be concreted.

Village scales have largely disappeared from the village image at the end of the 20th century due to increasing centralization in agriculture and agricultural goods transport. Where they have been preserved, they are more likely to serve museum purposes.