Smoker
The smoker , also Smoker , Erzgebirgisch Raachermannel , Saxon Räuschormännl , is used for burning of incense and is an invention of the toy makers from Ore .
history
The smoker was first mentioned around 1830, its production and use are now an integral part of the Ore Mountain folk art and the Ore Mountain customs during the Christmas season . For this purpose, a lighted incense candle is placed on the lower part of the two-part wooden figure. The upper part is hollowed out and is plugged onto the first part. The incense candle burns inside the mostly turned incense smoker, the smoke rises upwards and emerges from the mouth hole. Before the invention of the incense smoker, the Ore Mountains put incense candles open.
Incense smokers are set up for Advent and Christmas, together with a candle arch , miner , angel and pyramid .
The song 's Raachermannel , created by Erich Lang in 1937, sings about the character.
Manufacturing
Smokers are turned from local hardwoods such as birch, beech, spruce, linden, alder and maple. First a prototype is made. Preparation takes place by producing “gauges” that can be used to compare whether the respective workpiece corresponds to the prototype in terms of its dimensions. The individual parts of the smoker can now be turned, milled and sawed to size. The small parts are manufactured using automatic turning machines. Then the drum painting takes place. Finally, the individual parts are glued together and details such as the face and decorations are painted by hand.
In the meantime, numerous smokers that can be bought for “little money” are no longer made in the Ore Mountains, but in low-wage countries . For this reason, the Association of Erzgebirge Craftsmen and Toy Manufacturers eV launched the “Original instead of plagiarism” campaign in 2006 together with DREGENO Seiffen eG , the Seiffen municipality and the Seiffen Tourist Association.
variants
Smokers come in a wide variety of designs, most of which are related to professions in the region. In addition to foresters, peddlers and other professional groups, traditionally there are mainly Rastelbinder , miners, soldiers and dumpling women. In addition to standing figures, there are edge stools that are placed on the edges of a table or furniture, or small scenarios with several smokers on a base plate, such as the three skat players . Modern production methods also enable smokers, where the smoke comes out, for example, through a coffee pot or a pot with dumplings .
Smokehouse
Various manufacturers offer so-called smokehouse as an alternative to traditional smokers , which were also known as early as the 19th century. Wood or sheet metal are used as material for this. In most cases, the roof can be lifted off to bring in the incense candle. In terms of design, predominantly winter, Christmas, but also fairytale-oriented motifs are shown. Sometimes there is a combined representation of smokehouse and pyramids. A specialty are those smokehouse, where the burning incense cones are brought in "upside down". With this method, the cones burn off completely and do not leave the usual blackish lubricating film on the firing base.
Moss man
As a counterpart to the Erzgebirge smoker, the Moosmännel is gaining ground in the neighboring Upper Vogtland . It embodies a small forest spirit who helps poor families with natural produce from the forest, can turn leaves into gold and, according to the legend, appears especially at Christmas time. As a figure, it is made with materials from the forest (wood, roots, lichen, grass) and developed into folk art as a light bearer .
Other motifs
In the last few years the principle of the smoker has also been applied to other objects. In the Erzgebirge folk art, tiled stoves (often in connection with a kitchen image), steam locomotives, motorcycles, mushrooms, hearts, coffee pots and trees (with a human face) can now also be found as "smoking motifs".
Trivia
The Cranzahl smoker museum shows the development, production history and a selection of different smoker models. The smallest and largest smoker in the world in the Kleinwelka Miniature Park in Bautzen have an entry in the Guinness Book of Records .
literature
- Hans-Jürgen Irmscher, Helga Köhler: Smokers in the Saxon Ore Mountains . Ed .: Chemnitz Vocational School for Tourism (= Erzgebirge Folk Art . Volume 11 ). Husum Verlag, Husum 2000, ISBN 3-88042-963-4 .
- Hellmut Bilz, Manfred Kaden, Christoph Georgi: Erzgebirgische Smokers . Folklore Center Erzgebirge, Vogtland at the district cabinet for cultural work Karl-Marx-Stadt, Schneeberg 1987, DNB 880977450 .
- Karl-Heinz Melzer: If Raachermannel naabelt. Erzgebirge incense smokers and incense cones [the Erzgebirge incense smoker and its history]. Altis, Friedrichsthal 2014, ISBN 978-3-910195-68-4 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Information about the campaign “Original instead of plagiarism”. Retrieved December 26, 2015 .
- ↑ Viktor Mann mentions in his childhood memories, which were played around 1900, a Dutch porcelain smokehouse that his grandfather owned around 1850: Viktor Mann: We were five, Frankfurt 1996, p. 36.
- ↑ Motifs according to Dregeno's online offer at https://dregeno-shop.de/ (accessed December 24, 2016)