Muldenhauer
The expression Muldenhauer ( Moldenhauer , Low German Mollenhauer ) describes a craft occupation in which wooden tubs (Mollen or Mullen) are made in various sizes. These are made from a full, halved tree trunk and not put together.
When hewing a hollow (Mollenhauen) a piece of wood is hollowed out in such a way that a hollow (Molle) is created. The Muldenhauer first roughly chops out the hollow with a so-called Dexel . Then he scrapes it off with a draw knife and sand the workpiece smooth. This creates a tub-like wooden vessel. The particular challenge here is not to simply shred the wood from the cavity, but rather to remove it in one piece. A second, smaller trough can then be made from this block and from its interior u. U. even a third, again smaller. This corresponds to the earlier conditions when the material was more expensive than the working time.
The finished hollow piece or wooden vessel was used in slaughtering and in the bakery trade. Back wells produced the Holzbitzler .
In 1933 around 900 people belonged to the Muldenhauer guild. Not all of them were full-time Muldenhauer, but z. B. carpenter , roofer or bricklayer who could not find work in winter and therefore made mullen.
Nowadays such vessels are rarely bought because vessels made from other materials are easier to manufacture and handle. The profession of Muldenhauer is therefore dying out. As of November 2011, 50 to 60 people were still doing this trade in Germany. The Muldenhauer traditionally belonged to the guild of the barrel trade. However, none of them count themselves among the members of the association.