Craftsmanship up close

Numerous craftspeople provide insights into their almost forgotten trades – to watch and participate in. Craftsmanship comes alive at Handwerk hautnah – and across generations. On May 1 and August 2, around a dozen different craftspeople will present their trades and invite families, grandparents, children, and anyone else who is curious to discover traditional crafts up close. Many products that are now mass-produced in factories are based on craft techniques that have developed over time. Quite a few of these techniques have become rare today and some are even threatened with extinction. This makes it all the more valuable to experience them in action here: a blacksmith shapes red-hot iron, a rope maker shows how individual fibers are turned into a strong rope, a potter works on the potter's wheel, and screen printing reveals how unique motifs are created by hand. All this takes place in the historic houses and workshops of the open-air museum, where the weaver goes about her work in the darkness of the weaver's house from Laichingen, the carpentry workshop in the house from Ohmenhausen comes to life, and a pedal-powered sewing machine – completely without electricity – can be tried out in a small room. At many stands, visitors are not only allowed to watch, but also to try their hand at the craft themselves – a special experience, especially for children. Other craftsmen offer their lovingly crafted goods for sale: durable, sustainable products with a history.