Important information at a glance
“Glockenschmiede gegr. 1646” (Bell smithy founded 1646) is written on a plain wooden sign above the entrance door. Greenery is growing up the corner of the house. In the backlight of the sun, a small rainbow glitters above the water wheel and the summer wind gently sweeps over the forest. For almost four centuries, the bell smithy in Haßlberg has been located at the far end of the Brander Valley, standing stoically, defying all wars and world events.
The last master blacksmith, Fritz Grübl, died in 1960. It is thanks to his daughter Tyrena Ullrich and her husband Martin that the property did not fall into disrepair. Today it is a small museum. Evidence of a craft that is almost forgotten, a laborious and arduous job. You get an idea of this when you enter the hammer mill. It is dark and cool here, even on a bright sunny day. The smithy’s floor had to be kept damp at all times so that sparks falling around could not ignite anything. The monotonous, loud beats of the heavy hammers made it impossible to even understand one’s own words. There was no hearing protection. The men communicated with knocking signs called “hammer language”. Their work was incredibly exhausting. The day often lasted twelve hours. They wore heavy leather aprons and wooden shoes and stood at the red-hot forge, the blacksmith’s hearth, and the booming tail hammers.
