Peat barge (Teufelsmoor)
A peat barge is a type of barge from the Teufelsmoor near Bremen .
history
The state moor colonization began around 1720 in Teufelsmoor. Jürgen Christian Findorff systematically dug villages and trenches on behalf of the Anglo-Hanoverian King George II . Previous attempts at colonization already used the waterways of the Hamme , Wörpe and Wümme in some cases . The paths laid out were hardly accessible with carts or only laid out as "sanded" paths. Findorff in particular promoted the expansion of drainage canals, sometimes also as border lines to the individual properties, and brought them together in navigable canals. He also obliged the bog farmers to look after and maintain the canals. The farmers, but also some small shipyards , built peat barges and used the canals as a transport network. The Grotheersche Werft (in operation from 1850 to 1954) in Schlußdorf , which has been on display as the Torfschiffswerft museum since 1977 , has been preserved.
Sizes
The peat barges from the Teufelsmoor are differentiated according to " Hunt ". The most common are the 1/2 hunt barges, which are about 9.5 meters long (excluding the rudder blade) and 1.8 meters wide. There is also the 1/4 hunt and the hunt. A hunt was the Bremen peat size and corresponded to 100 baskets, that was about 12 cubic meters.
Characteristic of the peat barge is the brown colored lug sail , which is around 12 m² in size and hangs on the 6 meter high mast . There were also larger barges (up to 400 t load) on the wider waters, especially from the Hamme to Melchers Hütte. These include the so-called oak drivers (Bremen ships with calibrated loading capacity, but also ships made of oak), and for a short time there were also Dutch barges . The Dutch should undermine the monopoly of the Bremen oak drivers. One of these barges and a typical peat barge are located in the Museum for Peat Shipping and Peat Extraction in the museum complex in Osterholz-Scharmbeck .
Use
The most important acquisition for the farmers was the sale of peat , which was an important heating material until the 20th century . They found plenty of buyers for it in nearby Bremen . The peat was sailed on the canals to the various peat harbors such as Walle , Gröpelingen , Vegesack and the one in Bremen-Findorff (previously up to 1.8 kilometers, today 300 meters quay length). In the first few years, the transport from the collection points (e.g. said point at Melchers Hütte) was carried out by the larger ships of the oak drivers. As the profit for the peat farmers through the middlemen and their trading practice became less and less, the direct transport to Bremen was also worthwhile. Bremen could be reached from Worpswede by peat barge in about three to four days through the Hamme, which was then uneven. Later, the so-called Semkenfahrt was "stung", which reduced the journey to one or two days by shortening the previous route through Hamme, Lesum and Wümme. In unfavorable winds from the west, the loaded boat to Bremen was mostly towed (pulled), staked or rigged (an eight-shaped movement with a long "paddle"), mostly only on the return trip could the brown sail be used in westerly winds. Page Swords prevent drift and provide accurate rate driving. The curves could mostly also be negotiated with this type of sail.
number
The exact number of boats at the heyday of peat shipping can only be roughly estimated in the relevant literature. There are reports of 1700 peat barges in the area of the Teufelsmoor. In some places there is talk of 35,000 ship movements per year. However, eyewitnesses still report from the post-war period that peat barges were full, most of which no longer exist. With the modernizations of the 1960s and 1970s, the canals were also filled in in favor of roads, or at least their cross-section was reduced considerably, so that only drainage ditches remained. The routes that can still be used today are only a small copy of the old connections. A revitalization of stretches (such as the Hamme-Oste Canal ) as it is taking place in parts of the Netherlands , is z. Not to be expected at the moment.
Replicas
Today the historical replicas demonstrate the driving style for guests. The possibility of sailing is severely restricted by the vegetation on the banks. There are also additional bridges that hinder historical sailing. The masts can be put down, but with a weight of 50 to 60 kilograms, they are difficult, because the tree has to be lowered and the canvas has to be pulled in with the lug sail . The small canals that led up to the farmsteads (there are barn doors that are directly on the canal) were poked with the "paddle". In addition, the blade edge was reinforced with steel, sometimes with a steel point.
The approximately 20 existing replicas of the peat barges, which are mainly used for excursions on the canals of the Teufelsmoor, offer space for around 16 guests and are powered by quiet motors. Current berths include Worpswede , Teufelmoorschleuse, Viehspecken, Osterholz-Scharmbeck , Ritterhude , Karlshöfenermoor in the new Torfhafen and the Torfhafen in Bremen-Findorff . Various providers operate on the Hamme and in Bremen . Today's peat boatmen operate these trips almost exclusively in their free time and in their endeavor to bring visitors closer to their homeland and its history. Some of them wear clothes like those used by the peat boatmen 200 years ago. At least that's what they found out through research.
The Peat Barge Armada has been held every three years since 1999 (most recently in 2014) at the end of April . Almost all the peat barges meet on Saturday morning to start the guest season together. Towards evening the now motorized barges reach Findorff harbor in Bremen. The return journey to the home ports begins on Sundays.
The peat barges and the Teufelsmoor with its play of light are often used as motifs for the many artists in Worpswede .
See also
literature
- Hans Siewert : Hammer ride. In-depth observations and interesting experiences on a peat boat trip from Osterholz harbor via “Tietjens Hütte” to “Neu-Helgoland”. Publisher M. Simmering , Lilienthal 2010.
Film document
In the 1931 Teufelsmoor film by Helmut Oestmann, the journey of a peat barge from Teufelsmoor to Bremen is shown.
Web links
- Peat barge trips - excursions into the moor on Radio Bremen ( Memento from September 30, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
- Peat barge trips from Bremen-Findorff www.torfkaehne-bremen.de
Individual evidence
- ^ Hermann Giere, Torfschiffswerft Schlußdorf (museum) in the municipality of Worpswede, founded in 1850, restored in 1977 by the Heimatverein Schlußdorf eV , Osterholz-Scharmbeck: Saade, 1987, p. 8.