Wolf tiles
A wolf tile (French: tuile à loups) is a specially shaped roof tile whose whistling sound, which began in certain wind conditions, was supposed to announce the arrival of wolves in earlier times . Wolf bricks were common in a wide, mountainous band from the south-eastern Massif Central to the Auvergne , with a main occurrence in the Cevennes in the Lozère and Haute-Loire departments.
The use of wolf tiles
It is a roof tile or stone made of slate-like material (as is used in mountain areas for roofing) that is pierced by slots or holes and attached to the roof gable or on the ridge of the building. The wind that gets caught in the openings of the wolf tile facing north-east or east produces a characteristic whistle from a certain wind speed. This sound indicates that the wind (continental cold air) from Siberia , which is feared in these areas, is beginning to blow. This wind heralds snow and extreme cold and usually blows for several weeks. Under these conditions, the wild animals begin to suffer from cold and hunger. The prey animals no longer show themselves and due to the lack of food in the forests, the wolves were forced to approach the farms and villages in historical times. Above all, this meant a danger to dogs running freely, stray cats, chickens and sheep left behind in the pastures.
Depending on the area, the natural stone roof tiles are either raw or carved by stonemasons and often have the shape of a sun, a star or a rooster. In the Lozère department , they are made of granite; the holes or slots are often arranged in the shape of a Christian cross.
The wolf tile served as an indirect warning or announcement instrument and not to scare wolves or to keep them away. Together with nailed doors and door sills covered with stone slabs (against scratching the doors with your paws), the wolf tile is an example of the influence of the wolf on rural architecture.
Other meanings
"Wolfsziegel" ( La tuile à loups ) is the title of a French television film by Jacques Ertaud from 1972, which was also shown several times in Germany. This is based on the book "Der Wolfsziegel" by Jean-Marc Soyez .
Wolf brick is also called a beer bottle built into the highest point of a gable wall, the opening of which faces outwards and causes a whistle in the wind that makes the builder despair. The walling in of such a wolf brick is done as revenge for know-it-all builders by the master mason.