Rötekuhlen und Laubfrosch

Flax (or "common flax") used to be grown everywhere in the Ravensberg hill country and linen was made from it. The reddish ponds were of central importance in the production of linen fibers. Water quality and soil type determined the quality.

Sown in April, the flax could already be harvested in July. Once the seeds and stalks had been separated, the flax was placed in bundles in the reddening ponds for 10-14 days. The name does not come from the color red. Reinforced by fermentation processes, the flax bundles dissolved and the fibers could be separated from the stalk. They were dried, broken, crushed, "curled and chopped" until all the wooden parts were separated. The linen was spun and woven at home.

Until the 19th century, the hirelings, non-independent farmers who owned neither a farm nor land, used linen production as a necessary additional source of income alongside farming. Later, weaving was partially replaced by cigar production.

Today, the ponds are home to endangered species such as the tree frog, so much is being done to preserve the ponds

Further information: www.fahr-im-kreis.de