Date: 09/10 September 2017
Museum Guesthouse Gromerhof

Masters of traditional crafts will be showcasing their handiwork on Saturday and Sunday 09/10 September 2017 at the Swabian museum and guesthouse in Illerbeuren. A number of participants will animate the entire museum in demonstrating old artisanal techniques.

The parlors, barns and workshops of the museum will play host to a range of lively activities: Instruments will be made, baskets weaved and ropes braided. Alongside typical village handicrafts, artisan craftwork will also be on display, including reverse glass painting, beadwork, goldsmithery or monastery work, as well as tasks performed in folk costume. Traditional handicraft techniques such as spinning, felting and lace-making can also be admired.

The craftsmen will be demonstrating how, at one time, everyday objects emerged through the clever use of simple tools and devices. It is not only physical strength and patience that were required to achieve this, but also a careful hand and a sharp eye.

One particular attraction is the transportable Gatter sawmill, which was used in Allgaü from roughly 1930 right up until the 1960s. It would have been disassembled and painstakingly – occasionally the individual parts were even carried on shoulders – taken to building sites in the mountains, where lumber was sawed on site.

Participating craftsmen will travel from all over Swabia and the Allgäu in order to demonstrate traditional handwork and craftsmanship in all its diversity. They are more than happy to share their knowledge and inspire museum visitors. Hearty meals or coffee and cakes will be on offer to provide sustenance for the guests. The museum is open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and the demonstrations will be taking place from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on both days. The event is supported by the shooting club and the Illerbeuren voluntary fire service.