A miner's habit (german: Berghabit or ''Bergmannshabit'') is the traditional dress of miners in Europe. The actual form varies depending on the region, the actual mining function, and whether it is used for work or for ceremonial occasions.

Elements

At work, the miner of the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

in Europe wore the normal costume for his local region – pit trousers (''Grubenhose''),

shoe A shoe is an item of footwear intended to protect and comfort the human foot. They are often worn with a sock. Shoes are also used as an item of decoration and fashion. The design of shoes has varied enormously through time and from culture t ...

s and miner's jacket (''Bergkittel''). Only gradually was the typical miner's uniform created by the addition of unmistakable elements of miner's apparel such as the miner's apron (''Arschleder''),

knee pad Knee pads or kneepads are protective gear worn on knees to protect them against impact injury from falling to the ground or hitting an obstacle, or to provide padding for extended kneeling. Use Sports Knee pads are worn in many recreationa ...

s (''Kniebügel''),

miner's cap The miner's cap (german: Fahrhaube) is part of the traditional miner's costume. It consists of a white material (linen) and served in the Middle Ages to protect the miner when descending below ground (''unter Tage''). Later it was replaced by the m ...

(''Fahrhaube'' or ''Fahrkappe'', later pit hat (''Schachthut''), the mining tools needed for work in the pit, such as

hammer A hammer is a tool, most often a hand tool, consisting of a weighted "head" fixed to a long handle that is swung to deliver an impact to a small area of an object. This can be, for example, to drive nails into wood, to shape metal (as w ...

s (''Fäustel''), chisels (''Eisen''), wedges, picks (''Keilhauen''), hoes (''Kratze''),

shovel A shovel is a tool used for digging, lifting, and moving bulk materials, such as soil, coal, gravel, snow, sand, or ore. Most shovels are hand tools consisting of a broad blade fixed to a medium-length handle. Shovel blades are usually made of ...

s, crowbars, pikes (''Brechstangen'') or miner's

chisel A chisel is a tool with a characteristically shaped cutting edge (such that wood chisels have lent part of their name to a particular grind) of blade on its end, for carving or cutting a hard material such as wood, stone, or metal by hand, stru ...

s (''Bergeisen''),

mallet A mallet is a tool used for imparting force on another object, often made of rubber or sometimes wood, that is smaller than a maul or beetle, and usually has a relatively large head. The term is descriptive of the overall size and proport ...

s (''Schlägel'') or carpenter's

hatchet A hatchet (from the Old French , a diminutive form of ''hache'', 'axe' of Germanic origin) is a single-handed striking tool with a sharp blade on one side used to cut and split wood, and a hammerhead on the other side. Hatchets may also be use ...

s, the miners'

safety lamp A safety lamp is any of several types of lamp that provides illumination in coal mines and is designed to operate in air that may contain coal dust or gases, both of which are potentially flammable or explosive. Until the development of effectiv ...

s (often a '' Froschlampe''), and the ''Tzscherper'' bag (for the miner's knife (''Tzscherpermesser'') and lamp accessories like

rape oil Rapeseed (''Brassica napus ''subsp.'' napus''), also known as rape, or oilseed rape, is a bright-yellow flowering member of the family Brassicaceae (mustard or cabbage family), cultivated mainly for its oil-rich seed, which naturally contains ...

flint Flint, occasionally flintstone, is a sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as the variety of chert that occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Flint was widely used historically to make stone tools and start fir ...

and

tinder Tinder is easily combustible material used to start a fire. Tinder is a finely divided, open material which will begin to glow under a shower of sparks. Air is gently wafted over the glowing tinder until it bursts into flame. The flaming tinder i ...

).Lexikoneintrag bei zeno.org
/ref> There were specific accoutrements for the individual trade groups. The mining foreman or '' Steiger'', for example, carried the ''Steigerhäckel'', a simple

hewer A hewer (german: Hauer or ''Häuer'') is a miner who loosens rock and minerals in a mine. In medieval mining in Europe a ''Hauer'' was the name given to a miner who had passed his test (''Hauerprüfung'') as a hewer. Training In Europe in form ...

(''Häuer'') bore a miner's hatchet (''Grubenbeil''). Able miners (''Doppelhäuer'') carried a miner's axe (''Bergbarte'' or ''Bergparte''), which was simultaneously a tool and a weapon. The smelters (''Hüttenleute'') wore the leather apron as a

pinafore A pinafore (colloquially a pinny in British English) is a sleeveless garment worn as an apron. Pinafores may be worn as a decorative garment and as a protective apron. A related term is ''pinafore dress'' (known as a ''jumper'' in Ameri ...

(''Schürze'') in front of them (i.e. "back to front") and carried various implements: the ''Firke'' or ''Furkel'', the

rake Rake may refer to: * Rake (stock character), a man habituated to immoral conduct * Rake (theatre), the artificial slope of a theatre stage Science and technology * Rake receiver, a radio receiver * Rake (geology), the angle between a feature on a ...

(''Rechen'') and the tapping bar (''Stecheisen'' or ''Abstichlanze''). In 1769 in Saxony, the

Marienberg Marienberg is a town in Germany. It was the district capital of the Mittlerer Erzgebirgskreis (Central Ore Mountains district) in the southern part of Saxony, and since August 2008 it has been part of the new district of Erzgebirgskreis. As of ...

Bergmeister A ''Bergmeister'' ( lat, Magister montium) was a mine manager or foreman in German-speaking Europe who, along with the '' Bergvogt'', was one of the officials serving on a mining court (''Berggericht''). There were ''Bergmeisters'' in every mining ...

, von Trebra, introduced the wearing of the black mining habit.* p. 117 The variety of mining habits may still be seen in the mining processions typical of the old mining regions even today.

Gallery

Die verschiedenen Arten der Fahrung.png, Miners with helmets (''Fahrhauben'') (illustration by

Agricola Agricola, the Latin word for farmer, may also refer to: People Cognomen or given name :''In chronological order'' * Gnaeus Julius Agricola (40–93), Roman governor of Britannia (AD 77–85) * Sextus Calpurnius Agricola, Roman governor of the mid ...

mid-16th century) Friedrich Constantin von Beust 1806-1891 (01).JPG, Friedrich Constantin von Beust in the uniform of a Saxon ''Oberberghaupt-mann'' Bergparade in Pobershau 2004.JPG, Miners' Association of Pobershau in their parade uniform (2004) SANOK 3 MAJA 09 KAPELA GORNIKA.JPG, Miners' band in Polish Sanok (2009)

Literature

* *{{citation, first=Karl-Ewald, last=Fritzsch, surname2=Friedrich Sieber, title=Bergmännische Trachten des 18.Jahrhunderts im Erzgebirge und im Mansfeldischen , publisher=Akademie-Verlag, publication-place=Berlin, pages=79, date= 1957, language=German

References

External links

German mining terminology

Mining and Ore Mountain terms
History of mining in Germany Mining culture and traditions Uniforms Miners' clothing

Elements

Gallery

See also

Literature

References

External links