Vineyard keeper
A vineyard guardian (also known as Weingartenhüter , Wengertschütz , Wengerter or Saltner ) was an assistant to the winegrower , who primarily drove away the birds with a ratchet , Wengerter whip or a blank gun .
history
The first mention of a vineyard keeper can be found in the Austrian wine-growing code of 1352, which provided detailed rules on the guardianship and severe penalties. Anyone who stole only three grapes was a "harmful man" and anyone who entered a vineyard with a weapon was allowed to be killed.
Righteous men were put in charge of the vineyard watch, and this activity brought social prestige.
In Tyrol , the Saltners protected the grapes from animals and thieves from the Assumption of Mary to the grape harvest. The office, which has been documented since the 16th century, received new attention in the 19th century due to the emerging tourism. The descriptions of terrifying Saltners adorned with animal trophies in the travel guides meant that such costumes were actually established and displayed as tourist attractions. The costume usually consisted of leather breeches and a wide, embroidered belt, a chain with boar teeth or teeth from rodents and a hat adorned with cock, peacock and game cock feathers. The word "Saltner" comes from the dialectic Latin word saltuarius (administrator).
Working method
The aim of making noises is to protect the vineyards from birds (especially starlings , blackbirds and field thrushes ) and other animals. Even deer and badgers like the grapes.
Current situation
In the past, the grapes were guarded with wooden ratchets, today it is increasingly pistol shots with which the animals are driven away. The vineyard keepers receive special authorization from the mayor to carry the weapon with which they shoot blank cartridges .
Automated continuous sound systems with guns and bird screaming devices and, to a lesser extent, other methods (e.g. nets) are used more and more to drive away birds (see also plant protection ). With the automated acoustic methods, there are considerable habituation effects that put the effectiveness into perspective. The distribution of the damage over larger areas is therefore more of a limited goal. A real expulsion of the birds and prevention / reduction of bird damage cannot be achieved by automated acoustic methods in contrast to the use of a real vineyard keeper. The mere appearance of moving people in the vicinity of vineyards already deter greedy flocks of birds or small groups of birds.
Today, vineyard keepers sometimes only carry the name for representational purposes and their ratchets are used at parties and parades.
Situation in Austria
The vineyard keepers in eastern Austria also Hiata had during the vintage banns over the vineyards to watch.
The grape harvest ban or autumn ban referred to the closure of the vineyards between the start of grape ripening and the harvest, ordered by the authorities . The monitoring was carried out by the vineyard guardians . You should protect the vineyards against grape theft. In the first Austrian viticulture regulations of Duke Albrecht II: from 1352 reference was already made to it. This includes, among other things, detailed regulations on guardianship, which provided for severe penalties. Anyone who entered a vineyard armed was allowed to be killed. If only 3 grapes were stolen, one was called a harmful man . If you resisted arrest, you could be declared an outlaw . In the area around Gumpoldskirchen , a first guardian order is documented as early as 1355. In the Lower Austrian Guardian Order of 1707, depending on the extent of the damage, punishment up to cutting off an ear or a hand is provided.
The vineyards were closed by signs made of straw or wood, the so-called Vermachkreuze and thorns. It was not until the 20th century that posters with the words “ Entrance forbidden” appeared. With the watch over the vineyards only righteous men in good physical condition and knowledge of the district were assigned. In the early days of the wine harvest ban, young men were commissioned to take over a guarantee for each wealthy person in the event that the guardian did not do his job. The guardianship was well paid and brought social respect.
The hiata were sworn to the guardian order. They were obliged to do their duty day and night. During their tenure they lived in simple huts in the vineyards. In the early days, these huts were simple accommodations built with bunches of vines and straw. They were later replaced by permanent huts. These were often camouflaged. At the beginning of the vintage ban , they set up the so-called Hiatabam , or guardian column . In the area south of Vienna it was mostly a limbed black pine . It was decorated with colorful ribbons. In the Mödling area, a hat wheel was also attached to the top of the trunk. This was illustrated in the work Georgica curiosa by Wolf Helmhardt von Hohberg . It shows that the wheels were used as viewing platforms. Similar to the May trees guardians columns were happy to recut or stolen by the boys around.
The vineyard keepers used halberds , axes (so-called hiatahackles), sabers and later also pistols and rifles as weapons . The latter two were mainly used as a deterrent and were often loaded with pig bristles. If a thief was caught, the keeper would bring him to the owner of the vineyard. They were later handed over to the police. The custodians were then entitled to a grab bonus ; in Baden near Vienna and around Perchtoldsdorf , the thieves were asked for a so-called stinging money . Buhler horns were also used to communicate with one another . In the area around Traiskirchen and Klosterneuburg they were called Hiatapfoazn . It was usually a cattle horn. In the Weinviertel a whip , the Hiatagoassl , was used instead. Both also had the function of driving away birds invading the vineyards. In Styria this was accomplished through the Klapotetz .
In the area south of Vienna, the end of the autumn ban was usually around October 10th. To announce that the vineyards were open again, a firecracker was shot down. So the guardianship for this year was over. The keepers were the keepers feed out solemnly in the village. Often this was also associated with Thanksgiving . The office of the vineyard guardian was of great importance for centuries. It only lost its status in Austria after the occupation . The last Guardian Ordinance was issued in Austria in the 1960s. At the beginning of the 1970s the guardianship became superfluous due to the general prosperity . Today only two keepers are ordered in Rust am See . Their job is mainly limited to scare away the birds. In Austria, the guardianship regulations have been incorporated into the field, hunting and fishing laws of the federal states , and the Hiata are now officially referred to as public state cultural guards .
Towards the end of the 1990s, a return to the old traditions began . Many wine-growing communities began to revive the customs associated with the vineyard keepers. So the so-called is in Gumpoldskirchen again Gebirgsaufschießen performed. Several places are celebrating the arrival of the guardians and in some places you can also visit a renovated vineyard guardian hut.
literature
- Matthias Ladurner-Parthanes : From Perglwerk to Torggl. Work and tools in South Tyrolean viticulture. Athesia, Bozen 1972, pp. 137-139.
- Josef Psenner: An old Saltner order . In: Der Schlern , 2, 1921, pp. 361–364. (on-line)
- Norbert Tischelmayer: Wine Glossary. 2777 terms related to wine. Np Buchverlag, 2001, ISBN 3-85326-177-9 .
- Johann Werfring: The grapes in the neighbor's garden. In: Vinaria . Austria's magazine for wine culture. 8/2006, pp. 50-52.
Web links
- Report on a vineyard keeper
- Pictures of a Wengert contactor shelter
- Documentation about the "pros and cons" of the use of vineyard keepers
Individual evidence
- ↑ http://www.vkz.de/de/heute/redaktion/serien/von-der-rebe-ins-glas/september-die-weinberghut-im-wandel-der-zeit/
- ↑ Meraner Weinberghüter ("Saltner") , Germanisches Nationalmuseum
- ^ The Saltner , Kaltern am See tourist office
- ↑ Ludwig von Hörmann : The Saltner. In: Eduard Amthor (Hrsg.): Der Alpenfreund, monthly booklet for the dissemination of alpine knowledge among young and old in popular descriptions from the entire area of the alpine world and with practical waves for enjoyable tours of the same. Volume 5, Gera 1872, pp. 41–47 ( online )
- ^ Province of Bolzano , cultural assets
- ↑ http://www.starenabwehr.de
- ↑ http://www.starenabwehr.de/knol-google-volxheim.pdf
- ↑ http://www.stadt-erlenbach.de/Weinbau/Festweinprobe2005/Wengertschuetz.htm ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ http://zaberbote.de/kultur/schutz-fuer-die-reife-frucht-10-2007
- ↑ a b c d e Johann Werfring: The grapes in the neighbor's garden. In: Vinaria . Austria's magazine for wine culture. 8/2006, pp. 50-52.
