Linbasta from Lerkaka
The Linbasta from Lerkaka (also Linbastun ) is the only surviving flax kiln on Öland . "Lin" means linen and the word part "basta" is an abbreviation for "badstuga" (bath house). The Lerkaka Linbasta is owned by the Runsten Local History Association and is open during midsummer. Objects and tools related to flax treatment and linen production are exhibited inside. Linbastorna consist of a front, outer or separate part, called the brydestuan, and a rear part, called the sauna, where the stove was. On the mainland there are, among other things, the flax kiln or Brydestuorna in Christtinehofs Slott, Dammtorp, Eljaröd, Finnerödja, Förslöv, Illstorp, Ingelstad, Ljungsåkra, Mästocka and Tånga, which are also looked after by local associations and a kiln ruin at the church of Vårkumla .
The kiln
The kiln was built in the second half of the 18th century and was in operation until around 1920. It is a long, low building with a peat roof. The northern part is made of stone, while the southern part was built in the manner of a log cabin. The large drying oven is located in the southern room. The furnace was supervised by a basta guard. Since there is no print, the walls are sooty. The flax was hung on poles under the ceiling. The rural folk from the area came to the Linbasta to prepare their linen.
The old method of linen making
Linen making was a multi-step process. After the flax dried, the seeds were removed and used for sowing, fodder, or medicine . Then you spread the flax on the moistened earth, or put it in the water until the rot had set in. Then it was dried in the flax kiln. This enabled it to be broken in a special arrangement (bräka). The bast was separated from the stalks with a swinging knife made of wood . The material was then tickled by pulling it in bundles through an iron comb, after which it could be spun.
History of linen production
The oldest signs of flax cultivation in Sweden come from the Viking Age (800–1150 AD). Linen was made on Öland until the First World War . Flax was often only grown for private use. According to Linnaeus , an expansion of the cultivation failed because there were few possibilities on the island, which was suffering from drought, to make the flax rotting by watering and the deer under protection destroyed the flax as soon as it began to drive out.
A relatively well-preserved flax kiln is the flax kiln from Kirchhorst .
Around the kiln
Immediately south of the Linbasta is a rune stone (Oil 37), in memory of the wealthy farmer named Rike Unn. On the opposite side of the country road is the so-called Lerkaka mill row .
Web links
- Gerhard Austrup: Sweden , Iwanowski´s travel book publisher, 2011, ISBN 978-3-861970-08-8 , p. 261 online
Coordinates: 56 ° 43 ′ 9.5 ″ N , 16 ° 42 ′ 35.3 ″ E