Pottery tradition on Gotland

The pottery tradition on Gotland was established in the 18th century on the initiative of the governor to reduce the importation of ceramics to the island. He appointed a potter to the Swedish island of Gotland who could make "tiles, common stone vessels, pots and bricks".

In the 1740s two German potters and tiled stove builders worked in Visby , whose apprentices later became entrepreneurs and teachers. The most famous Gotland pottery family in the 19th century named Berg had workshops in Visby, Boge and Klintehamn . Numerous tiled stoves on Gotland come from the Vesters workshop in Boge. A Korsman family of potters worked in Hemse . Adergrens produced in Visby, Peterssons in Katthammarsvik . Nilssons in Etelhem were also well known tiled stove builders.

Etelhem

19th century pottery workshops still exist in Etelhem. In addition, new buildings were erected. The facilities include a sludge plant where the clay is prepared.

Today the island’s pottery apprentices learn here during the summer and children can work on the turntable .

The pottery , founded in 1889 by the potter Axel Nilsson , produced everyday objects and tiled stoves. The business was passed on to his son Axel Olof, who stopped producing tiled stoves and ran the pottery until 1960. Egil Solberg took over the company that today produces under the direction of his son Torleif. The Solbergs introduced new manufacturing methods. As before, jugs, bowls and vases were the main focus of pottery. The traditional distillery was supplemented by a large brushwood oven in which the pottery is burned at 1025 ° C.

literature

• Marita Jonsson, Sven-Olof Lindquist: Gotland cultural guide . Almqvist and Wiksell, Uppsala 1993, ISBN 91-88036-09-X .