![Köhlerei in Grünburg](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/62/K%C3%B6hlerei_in_Gr%C3%BCnburg.jpg)
A charcoal burner is someone whose occupation is to manufacture
charcoal
Charcoal is a lightweight black carbon residue produced by strongly heating wood (or other animal and plant materials) in minimal oxygen to remove all water and volatile constituents. In the traditional version of this pyrolysis process, cal ...
. Traditionally this is achieved by carbonising wood in a
charcoal pile
A charcoal pile or charcoal clamp is a carefully arranged pile of wood, covered by turf or other layer, inside which a fire is lit in order to produce charcoal. The pile is tended by a charcoal burner. It is similar to a charcoal kiln, but the lat ...
or kiln.
Charcoal burning is one of the oldest human crafts. The knowledge gained from this industry still contributes to the solution of energy problems today. Due to its historical and cultural importance, charcoal burning and
tar distilling
Tar is a dark brown or black viscous liquid of hydrocarbons and free carbon, obtained from a wide variety of organic materials through destructive distillation. Tar can be produced from coal, wood, petroleum, or peat. "a dark brown or black bi ...
were incorporated in December 2014 into the register of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in Germany by the ''
Kultusministerkonferenz
The ''Kultusministerkonferenz'' (literally ''conference of ministers of education'') is the assembly of ministers of education of the German states. The body is not part of the federal government, and its directives do not immediately become eff ...
''.
History and technique
Medieval charcoal burners
Since the
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...
, high temperatures have had to be produced for iron
smelting
Smelting is a process of applying heat to ore, to extract a base metal. It is a form of extractive metallurgy. It is used to extract many metals from their ores, including silver, iron, copper, and other base metals. Smelting uses heat and a ch ...
, for
glassmaking
Glass production involves two main methods – the float glass process that produces sheet glass, and glassblowing that produces bottles and other containers. It has been done in a variety of ways during the history of glass.
Glass container ...
, and for the working of
precious metal
Precious metals are rare, naturally occurring metallic chemical elements of high economic value.
Chemically, the precious metals tend to be less reactive than most elements (see noble metal). They are usually ductile and have a high lustre. ...
s. Charcoal has been used to do this for centuries and, in order to produce it, entire forests were felled. With the increasing use of
stone coal from the 18th century, the charcoal burning industry declined.
![Otryt - Path 15](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/27/Otryt_-_Path_15.jpg)
Even in
ancient times
Ancient history is a time period from the beginning of writing and recorded human history to as far as late antiquity. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with the Sumerian cuneiform script. Ancient history cov ...
, charcoal was manufactured in kilns. Logs were arranged in a conical heap (a
charcoal kiln
A charcoal pile or charcoal clamp is a carefully arranged pile of wood, covered by turf or other layer, inside which a fire is lit in order to produce charcoal. The pile is tended by a charcoal burner. It is similar to a charcoal kiln, but the lat ...
or pile) around posts, a fire shaft was made using brushwood and wood chips and covered with an airtight layer of grass, moss and earth. The pile was ignited inside the firing shaft and, at a temperature of between 300 and 350 °C, the carbonization process began. The process took six to eight days - in large kilns several weeks - during which time the charcoal burner had to control the draught (by piercing small holes and resealing them), being careful neither to allow the pile to go out nor let it go up in flames. By observing the smoke exiting the kiln, the charcoal burner could assess the state of the carbonization process. If the smoke was thick and gray, the wood was still raw; thin, blue smoke indicated good carbonization.
In earlier times, charcoal burners led an austere, lonely life. They had to live near the kiln, usually in a charcoal burner's hut (''Köhlerhütte'' or ''
Köte
A ''Köte'' (also ''Köthe'') is the term used in the Harz Mountains of central Germany for a charcoal burner's hut (''Köhlerhütte''). A ''Köte'' was occupied by a charcoal burner in order to look after a nearby wood pile (''Kohlenmeiler''). Th ...
'' in Germany, Austria and Switzerland). During the Middle Ages, charcoal burners were ostracised. Their profession was considered dishonourable and they were frequently accused of evil practices. Even today there is a certain denigration of this former occupation. In the German language to have a charcoal burner's faith (''Köhlerglauben'') is to have blind faith in something. That aside, the continuing requirement to keep the kiln at the right temperature in all weathers meant that the job must have been arduous, lonely and, at times, dangerous.
Modern
Charcoal burning is still carried out commercially in parts of the world. It is rare in Europe, but still practised in Romania, Poland, the UK, Slovenia, and Switzerland. Other places where it is still common are the tropical rain forests of South America and Africa.
Even in the 20th century, charcoal burners in remote areas like the
Harz Mountains
The Harz () is a highland area in northern Germany. It has the highest elevations for that region, and its rugged terrain extends across parts of Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Thuringia. The name ''Harz'' derives from the Middle High German ...
and the
Thuringian Forest
The Thuringian Forest (''Thüringer Wald'' in German), is a mountain range in the southern parts of the German state of Thuringia, running northwest to southeast. Skirting from its southerly source in foothills to a gorge on its north-west side i ...
, still used a ''illebille'', a large contraption of beechwood boards, used as alarm and signal device. This is commemorated in the name of a mountain ridge in the Harz, called ''Hillebille''. Today the tradition of this old craft is mainly preserved in clubs and societies. The best known are the European Charcoal Burners' Society (''Europäische Köhlerverein'') and the Glasofen Charcoal Burners' Society (''Köhlerverein Glasofen'').
In popular culture
![Helene Schjerfbeck - Charcoal Burner](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f1/Helene_Schjerfbeck_-_Charcoal_Burner.jpg)
Saint
Alexander of Comana
Saint Alexander of Comana (died c. 251), known as "the charcoal burner", was Bishop of Comana in Pontus. Whether he was the first to occupy that see is unknown. The saint's curious name comes from the fact that he had, out of humility, taken u ...
(died c. 251) is known as "the charcoal burner". He is said to have taken up the job of the charcoal burner to avoid worldly acclaim.
A. A. Milne
Alan Alexander Milne (; 18 January 1882 – 31 January 1956) was an English writer best known for his books about the teddy bear Winnie-the-Pooh, as well as for children's poetry. Milne was primarily a playwright before the huge success of Winni ...
's poem "The Charcoal Burner" appeared in ''
Now We Are Six
''Now We Are Six'' is a book of thirty-five children's verses by A. A. Milne, with illustrations by E. H. Shepard. It was first published in 1927 including poems such as "King John's Christmas", "Binker" and "Pinkle Purr". Eleven of the poem ...
'', a collection of verse. It begins:
The Charcoal Burner has tales to tell.
He lives in the forest,
alone in the forest;
he sits in the forest,
alone in the forest.
And the sun comes slanting between the trees
In Swedish children's author Maria Gripe's Hugo and Josephine trilogy (the middle book of which was made into the film ''Hugo and Josephine'' in 1967
[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0061793/]), the character Hugo's father is a charcoal burner. Both father and son are portrayed as independent, unmaterialistic people with forestcraft skills. When Hugo is first introduced, his father the charcoal burner is in prison for assault, something Hugo attributes to him trying to live in a town instead of alone in the forest.
See also
*
Biochar
Biochar is the lightweight black residue, made of carbon and Ash (analytical chemistry),
ashes, remaining after the pyrolysis of biomass. Biochar is defined by the International Biochar Initiative as "the solid material obtained from the th ...
References
Bibliography
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External links
European Charcoal Burning Society(in German).
*Michaela Vieser, Irmela Schautz
at
Spiegel Online
''Der Spiegel (online)'' is a German news website. Before the renaming in January 2020, the website's name was ''Spiegel Online'' (short ''SPON'').
It was founded in 1994 as the online offshoot of the German news magazine, ''Der Spiegel'', wit ...
on 22 June 2012 (in German)
Willkommen bei den Köhlern von Romoos(Charcoal burning in the Entlebuch UNESCO Biosphere Cultural Heritage) (in German)
*Charcoal Land Dole pri Litij
(in Slovenian)
{{Authority control
Charcoal
Crafts
Obsolete occupations
Forestry occupations
Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity