A miner's habit ( 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 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

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. Though the human foot can adapt to varied terrains and climate conditions, it is vulnerable, and shoes provide protection. Form was originally tied to function, but ...

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 pads (''Kniebügel''),

miner's cap The miner's cap () is part of the traditional Berghabit, 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 miner's ...

(''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 nail (fastener), nails into wood, to sh ...

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 ...

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

chisel A chisel is a hand tool with a characteristic Wedge, wedge-shaped cutting edge on the end of its blade. A chisel is useful for carving or cutting a hard material such as woodworking, wood, lapidary, stone, or metalworking, metal. Using a chi ...

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. General overview The term is descriptive of the ...

s (''Schlägel'') or carpenter's hatchets, the miners' safety lamps (often a '' Froschlampe''), and the ''Tzscherper'' bag (for the miner's knife (''Tzscherpermesser'') and lamp accessories like rape oil,

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. Historically, flint was widely used to make stone tools and start ...

and

tinder Tinder is easily Combustibility and flammability, combustible material used to Firemaking, 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 unt ...

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

tapping bar Tapping is a playing technique that can be used on any stringed instrument, but which is most commonly used on guitar. The technique involves a string being fret, fretted and set into vibration as part of a single motion. This is in contrast to ...

(''Stecheisen'' or ''Abstichlanze''). In 1769 in Saxony, the Marienberg Bergmeister, 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 m ...

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