493 – Kohlemeiler

Many stories are woven around charcoal burning and charcoal burners. Converting wood into charcoal was a widespread activity in olden days, particularly in forested areas where the transport of wood was a laborious undertaking. Charcoal was much sought after, as it generates a lot of heat and is ideal for melting iron and glass.

The charcoal burners often built their kilns in the middle of the woods where they lived in isolation and very simple circumstances. Many of them were considered to be eccentric, which is not surprising as they were always blackened and covered in soot from their work. They usually only came into the villages to deliver their charcoal, and then all at once they had a lot of money. This life style, which did not correspond to the norm, led people to attribute supernatural powers to charcoal burners and their product. In Entlebuch, for example, there was an oracle-like custom called the Chölele whereby a piece of charcoal swinging on a piece of string at the witching hour gave people answers to the urgent questions they asked.