Kreek (sledge)

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Kreek on Schinkel's meadow

A Kreek is a particularly flat and wide box slide that is steered with the help of a staff. Kreeken are traditionally used in the Hamburg district of Blankenese in Schinckels Park - the former property of the banker Max von Schinckel .

description

The sledges are flat, wide and heavy, individually crafted individual pieces made of solid wood (25–40 mm ash on the side, pine on top). The runners are shod with iron straps. A creek for a "single driver" is approx. 80 cm long, approx. 40 cm wide and has a height of approx. 15 to 20 cm above the track. Due to the design-related low height, the sled is not suitable for deep and soft snow, but is used almost exclusively on firm, preferably icy snow or an ice rink. Kreeken reach much higher speeds than conventional sledges and demand a high level of concentration and a lot of skill from the driver.

The control stick (usually a delimbed small tree about 5 to 6 m long) that is pulled behind enables precise steering when the helmsman is seated upright. Its high moment of inertia means that the helmsman can reliably turn the Kreek in any desired direction with little effort.

Depending on the size, up to three people can ride on a creek. When driving in pairs, the bow grips the helmsman's legs and thus holds himself and the helmsman tight. The helmsman finds additional support at a handle opening.

Driving is not called "tobogganing", but rather "frills". It requires some skill and experience and is therefore rarely practiced by children, but predominantly by adults. Accidents often lead to facial injuries and broken bones. While drivers were often injured in accidents in the past, some of today's drivers wear crash helmets to protect themselves .

If several kreeks drive one behind the other connected by control staffs, this is called "Maschop".

Kreeken are closely related to boat building and sailing. The controls correspond to the tiller handle of a sailing boat. In the past, broken or discarded ship parts such as B. dinghy masts (when they were made of wood). The passengers are referred to as " bowmen ". The evasive calls such as " Wahrschau " and " Raum " are also borrowed from sailing.

Schinckel's meadow

Kreekbahn with prohibition signs for sledges

Kreeken are only driven on the 450 meter long Schinckels Wiese in Blankenese ( 53 ° 34 ′  N , 9 ° 48 ′  E, coordinates: 53 ° 34 ′  N , 9 ° 48 ′  E ). The upper part is - similar to a bobsleigh run - narrow and narrow, often also icy, so that the Kreeken only drive individually. Overtaking or evading is hardly possible.

At Kreekbetrieb, conventional toboggan sleds are not welcome on Schinckel's meadow, as the drivers endanger themselves and others through low speed and mostly inexperience. In addition, their control methods damage the surface of the train, which is often laboriously prepared by hand.

Övelgönne

The use of Kreeken is also historically documented for Övelgönne . Who does not remember the two police officers with a certain anxiety [...], especially when we illegally "crawled down" the Schulberg [...] in winter . We went tobogganing on the ravine. The boys thundered down there on their Kreke, with a long stick as a steering wheel.

Web links

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Peter Christiansen, Youth Pranks . In: Hildegard Hudemann: Oevelgönne - Neumühlen , Hans Christians Verlag, Hamburg 1978, 3rd edition, ISBN 3767205971 , p. 38
  2. ↑ Ilse Kühl, Nice Summer Days . In: Hildegard Hudemann: Oevelgönne - Neumühlen , Hans Christians Verlag, Hamburg 1978, 3rd edition, ISBN 3767205971 , p. 61