Page 28 - Guide_EN

Upper Barn (First Floor) By the entrance of the former hay barn, the equipment used for pro- ducing textiles is displayed. The wool, flax and hemp was separated, carded (broken up), combed, spooled and finally weaved on a loom. Textile production was one of the areas of farm work that was shared by the men and the women. The preparatory work included planting & harvesting the hemp before drying, cleaning and spinning it. The actual weaving was undertaken by travelling weavers. They went from farm to farm with their weaving looms and wove the yarn which the farmers had handspun the previous winter. The roof construction of the barn comprises massive round wooden beams. They had to be able to carry the often very heavy weight of the snow with as few uprights or supports as possible. The roof is covered with wooden shingles. The shingles are handmade and were and still are rotated every four years. They are turned upside down and also flipped. This prolongs their life by three or four times. The wooden walls are not sealed which helps to air the hay. On the right you can see the large equipment and machines used for harvesting hay and growing corn. The large wheel is a horse mill which was powered by a horse walking around in a circle. This drove a cog which in turn powered the various grinding mills and the threshing machine. The mills ground the cereals (corn, wheat, oats etc.) into flour. Various grinding mills, as well as some “newer” (now long outdated) machinery are displayed and provide an overview of typical farm equip- ment. The ramp was used to transport the machinery in and out of the barn and into the fields. 26