Gmünd,
Austria
[Home] [Back
to Coal Forge 1] [Alte
Schmiede] [Gmünd,
Austria] [Anderson
Blacksmith, Colonial Williamsburg, VA] [Quasdorf
Blacksmith, Dows, Iowa] [Matthew
Edel, Haverhill, Iowa]
Working Ornamental Blacksmith's shop in Gmünd, Austria 1991.
Hidden in
the Alpine mountains an hours drive northwest of Villach, Austria, is the
mountain
village of Gmünd. A medieval wall surrounds the village and some of the
buildings were built right into or onto the wall including part of this
blacksmith's shop. Beautiful medieval buildings bring a wonderful atmosphere to
the village especially during the Christmas
season when we visited the market place. Medieval wrought ironwork adorns the buildings and
when new hand made ironwork is needed, the people have it made here- in their towns own
Locksmith's shop. Some modern techniques are used but for all the newer ironwork we saw
while visiting the village, much of it is still hand forged in the traditional style.
The photo at the top of the page gives the viewer a pretty good idea of the
ambient light in the shop. The shop is made up of several small rooms, some with
forges. Double forges are very common in the German speaking countries. One side
of the forge is being used
in these photos. Most smiths are right-handed and the viewer will notice the
smith is using the fire to his left as is most comfortable for a right-handed
blacksmith.
In
the photo at left the smith is forging the beginning of a scroll for a railing
that is
just out of sight on the floor. In the foreground is a scroll form held in the vise. Note
the clear work-area around the forge and anvil and, also around the vise. Plenty of room is
available so the blacksmith can work long bars horizontally as he bends them either at the
anvil, or around the form. Just partially visible to the left of this photo is the ram
section of a mechanical power hammer. A nice comfortable and efficient work
space for such a small shop.
The photo
at left shows a half finished scroll. This is a short scroll but still
gives a good indication of the amount of clear area needed around the forge and anvil for
working long bars when they are most often held horizontally for working. Note the neat
orderly placement of tools. It is easy to work with this setup because there are no
obstructions to hamper the work. The smith has a clear area to move his iron from the fire
to the anvil or vise, or power hammer.
This forge is a simple steel pipe and steel plate construction. Easily fabricated by a
modern welder. It is simple, practical, and inexpensive.
Readers who have knowledge or documentation on this shop are invited to
mail the author at the email address below.
Latest update
16 September 2019
The author can be emailed at address in picture below:
Created April, 1999
