2023-09-21 11:52:18
Werner Auer actually wanted to become a masseur. In his day, however, you had to be 18 to start an apprenticeship. So he thought to himself: “If not man, then gold!”
And so in 1983, at the age of 15, Auer began an apprenticeship as a goldsmith to learn how to work the precious metal so that it becomes fine gold leaf. “At that time there were still 16 companies with around 30 gold strikers in Schwabach in Franconia. There were also four women each as gold trimmers and four helpers. One of them was my sister,” says Auer. One kilogram of gold was processed every week.
Source: Infographic WELT
Today there are only two gold leaf manufacturers left in Schwabach. And Werner Auer. He is a master of his craft, but does not work in a gold leaf company, but shows his craft to the guests of Schwabach on behalf of the city. A traditional gold-beater workshop is set up in the gold-beater exhibition pavilion and in the city museum.
Melted, squashed, beaten
In it he explains to visitors the complicated work process involved in striking gold. And it looks like this: The gold is melted, poured, rolled out into a gold band, squeezed and repeatedly beaten and trimmed until it finally measures eight by eight centimeters and is only a ten-thousandth of a millimeter thick. In other words: It is so unimaginably thin that 10,000 gold leaf leaves placed on top of each other would only be one millimeter high.
From bars to the finest strips: gold leaf is extremely thin
Source: picture-alliance/dpa/Daniel Karmann
But how did the craft come to Schwabach of all places? “The goldsmiths all worked in Nuremberg at the beginning of the 16th century,” explains Werner Auer. However, due to the restrictive craft regulations there, some emigrated. When looking for a new location, a certain Jakob Ratzert discovered that only three to four pressing processes were necessary in Schwabach – compared to ten to twelve in Nuremberg.
also read
A dry climate is required for the production of gold leaf, which was optimally provided by Schwabach’s microclimate with its basin location and sandy subsoil. The striking stone must also always be placed on sand to cushion the blows.
Of 130 companies, two remain
At the beginning of the 20th century, craftsmanship in Schwabach reached its peak: up to 1,200 people were employed in around 130 companies. At that time, Schwabach was considered the world capital of gold leaf. Today there are only two manufacturers left: JG Eytzinger and Noris Blattgold.
They buy the precious metal worldwide, process it into gold leaf and sell it again all over the world. It is traditionally used for the gilding of churches and art monuments. But it is also used in porcelain and glass production, in the medical sector and in the catering industry.
also read
Gold leaf is omnipresent in Schwabach: the town is almost outshone by the material. On the post office building, the golden lettering “Silent Post” ennobles the ugly building. The roof towers of the town hall on Königsplatz are completely gold-plated: the citizens of Schwabach financed the precious metal for the 1,000 bricks with 2,000 shares.
Refined corner tower: gold leaf roof on the town hall in Schwabach
Quelle: Getty Images/Westend61
Although they are 20 years old, the turrets shine even in bad weather – a clear indication that hand-beaten Schwabacher gold leaf was used and not industrially manufactured gold from China. This often crumbles after just two or three years and is visibly less shiny. In the town hall, the meeting room, now the Golden Hall, was designed using 14,000 sheets of gold from Schwabach.
The Mary in the sign of gold on the east choir of the town church is very modern and the Victoria, a larger-than-life guardian angel who sits on the roof of a law firm in Schwabach, is very beautiful. And Werner Auer also integrated three gold-plated tiles into his own house. They are his favorite pieces of gold leaf.
Extremely fat biceps
During his playing days, Auer had a six-pack abs and biceps measuring 44 centimeters in circumference. Twice the size of an average bicep. At his best, Arnold Schwarzenegger was only a few centimeters above Werner’s value.
“In the old days, when it came to arm wrestling,” says Goldschläger, “the US soldiers who were stationed with us and who had been trained in the gym had no chance against me.” It’s surprising given that I get around 12,000 hits with a twelve-pound hammer every day.
Werner Auer in action: The gold beater shows the guests his craft
Source: Jochen Müssig
A wafer-thin sheet measuring eight by eight centimeters costs around two euros and weighs just 0.05 grams. It is best glued with linseed oil. This is what the ancient Egyptians did, processing gold leaf 4,000 years ago. Its production has been known in Europe since Roman times.
In the Middle Ages, the craft was practiced by monks and later by independent craftsmen. Augsburg, Nuremberg and later Schwabach were the most important cities where gold leaf was struck.
Ribéry’s gold leaf steak cost an exorbitant 1200 euros
Schwabacher gold leaf is popular worldwide. The Victory Column in Berlin and the Invalides Cathedral in Paris are decorated with it, as are the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem and the Sultan’s Palace in Brunei. And who doesn’t remember Franck Ribéry’s gold leaf steak, which the soccer star ordered in Dubai for 1,200 euros? Werner Auer puts the sum into perspective: “I estimate that the gold value on the meat was no more than two to three euros.”
also read
Guests at the Schwabacher Gasthof “Der Stern” can have gold-plated dishes served upon request – for comparatively reasonable prices: the dessert plate with original Schwabacher gold leaf costs less than 20 euros. Schwabacher Blattgold is the only one in Germany that has food approval. By the way, it tastes like: nothing.
Bronze for gold leaf: On Sablaiserplatz in Schwabach there is a monument honoring the craft tradition
Source: picture-alliance/DUMONT picture archive/Ulrich Teschner
It’s just a shame that the old craft will die out in Germany. There is no guild and no people interested in an apprenticeship. Europe still has seven gold strikers, two of whom are German – both from Schwabach. And another Schwabacher works in Australia.
At some point, only the Goldschläger monument on Sablaiser Platz near the Schwabach main post office will be a reminder of this profession. “It shows a former master of the gold strikers’ guild,” says Auer – with a striking stone, a hammer, a striking mold and an apron. Surprisingly, it is not gold plated.
Tips and information
Getting there: With the Bahn For example, from Berlin in around three and a quarter or from Hamburg in five and a half hours to Schwabach with a change in Nuremberg, from there the journey with the regional train only takes ten minutes. By car it takes around five hours from Berlin and another half hour from Nuremberg.
Activities: The guided tour “With the Goldschläger through Schwabach” costs 8 euros per person, register at Tourism Office; every first Saturday of the month takes place in the Schwabach City Museum Gold club demonstrations instead of; Event: The Next “Goldschläger night“ is planned for August 2024.
Eating gold: The restaurant “The star“was already run as an inn in the Middle Ages. If you order in advance, you can get gold on the dishes here, upscale Franconian cuisine. Hobby chefs who would like to gild their creations can also use gold leaf individually kaufen.
Information: schwabach.de
#Franconia #place #simply #destroy #gold