The Herrenwieser Schwallung is a splash dam, built in 1844–47 of

bunter sandstone The Buntsandstein (German for ''coloured'' or ''colourful sandstone'') or Bunter sandstone is a lithostratigraphic and allostratigraphic unit (a sequence of rock strata) in the subsurface of large parts of west and central Europe. The Buntsands ...

, near Herrenwies in the Black Forest, which impounds the waters of the Schwarzenbach stream into a pond. In the days of timber rafting it was periodically opened and washed the fallen logs or timber rafts downstream into the valley. Today the dam acts as a bridge over the Schwarzenbach.

Technology

Until 1844 a wooden splash dam (''Schwallung'') stood on the same spot. Because it took a great deal of maintenance, however, it was replaced under the direction of

Weisenbach Weisenbach is a municipality in the district of Rastatt in Baden-Württemberg in Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after ...

master

stonemason Stonemasonry or stonecraft is the creation of buildings, structures, and sculpture using stone as the primary material. It is one of the oldest activities and professions in human history. Many of the long-lasting, ancient shelters, temples, mo ...

, Belzer, with a dam made of bunter sandstone that is still there today. The individual stones were very precisely carved and laid without any mortar and the structure was finished with perfectly fitting, wedged

keystones A keystone (or capstone) is the wedge-shaped stone at the apex of a masonry arch or typically round-shaped one at the apex of a vault. In both cases it is the final piece placed during construction and locks all the stones into position, allo ...

. The dam stands at a valley floor height of roughly , is about 20.5 metres wide at the foot, 67 metres long and can store 20,000 to 25,000

cubic metre The cubic metre (in Commonwealth English and international spelling as used by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures) or cubic meter (in American English) is the unit of volume in the International System of Units (SI). Its symbol is m ...

s of water.Max Scheifele: ''Die Murgschifferschaft – Geschichte des Floßhandels, des Waldes und der Holzindustrie im Murgtal''. Casimir Katz Verlag, Gernsbach, 1988, , p. 282.

Timber transportation

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The logs for timber rafting were hauled down tracks (''Lotwegen'') from the mountains to the rafting pond (''Floßstube'') on the valley side of the splash dam by horses and stored there. By suddenly opening the two lock gates, the logs floated into the

Murg Murg may refer to: Places * Murg (Aare), a river of Switzerland * Murg (Northern Black Forest), a river and right tributary of the Rhine in the districts of Freudenstadt and Rastatt, Baden-Württemberg, Germany ** Murg Valley Railway * Murg (Sou ...

valley. Rafters (''Floßknechte'') freed any jammed logs using raft poles (''Floßstangen''). This work on the raft was dangerous and drew onlookers from the surrounding area, for example from the nearby town of Baden-Baden. Further downstream on the Murg in

Gernsbach Gernsbach () is a town in the district of Rastatt, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is located on the river Murg, east of Baden-Baden in the Black Forest. Twin towns are Baccarat in France and Pergola, Marche in Italy. The town is the hist ...

and Hörden the logs were roped together into

timber raft Timber rafting is a method of transporting felled tree trunks by tying them together to make rafts, which are then drifted or pulled downriver, or across a lake or other body of water. It is arguably, after log driving, the second cheapest mean ...

s and floated down to the

River Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , sourc ...

, where they were combined into larger rafts that were hauled to Holland for sale.

Literature

* Karl Friedrich Viktor Jägerschmid: ''Das Murgthal: besonders in Hinsicht auf Naturgeschichte und Statistik'', 1800, pp. 93–98 (description of its wooden predecessor
digitalised
.

References

External links

Location of the Herrenwieser Schwallung
at: {{GeoQuelle, DE-BW, LUBW, ref=nein 1840s architecture Ponds of Europe Lakes of the Black Forest Dams in Baden-Württemberg Reservoirs in Baden-Württemberg Rastatt (district) LHerrenwieser Schwallung