New exhibition

The hard life of the washerwomen in Eibiswald

Jutta Mangold-Poscharnigg (left) and Eva Hojnik with a wooden washing machine with pulsator from 1860 - a revolution at the time!

(Bild: Fürbass Josef/Josef Fürbass)

Washing rumple, mangling board, dandruff, wood ash, soda, soap, starch - all the ingredients for a classic laundry day in the style of yesteryear are available at the Museum im Kloepferhaus in Eibiswald: In the special exhibition "The Great Laundry", you can explore the hard life of the laundresses of yesteryear.

"When housewives wash and sausage, men and children go hungry and thirsty!" This old saying alone clearly expresses how much time these activities once took. What today is usually done at the touch of a button used to be exclusively manual work.

Preparations often began the evening before with soaking the laundry in a solution of soda or birch ash. Most town houses were equipped with a laundry room. There, the washerwoman would heat up the kettle at the crack of dawn to boil the laundry and then clean it with the help of the Rumpel.

To wash the laundry, they would go to a watercourse; in Eibiswald, for example, to the Saggau. If there was also a washing bridge, the work was even easier.

This historical photo shows laundry from the vicarage in Eibiswald being washed in the Saggau.

(Bild: Fürbass Josef/Josef Fürbass)

Hard work brought suffering
An exhibition in the museum in the Kloepferhaus offers insights into this once hard, but sometimes also sociable work. The idea came from the deputy chairwoman of the Eibiswald Culture and Museum Association, Beate Kirchengast. Eva Hojnik and Jutta Mangold-Poscharnigg were actively involved in the realization of the show "The Great Laundry".

Isabella Wippel also provides a detailed account of the laundresses' profession in her book "Memories of Old Eibiswald": "The laundresses had to work hard to earn their living. Standing on the cold cement floor in the laundry room, the strenuous rumbling, the washing in the draught of the bridge, the hands in the ice-cold water in wintertime made many a washerwoman foot-sore and gouty." There were also important things to consider when hanging up the laundry: "Discreet items, such as the lace-trimmed ladies' underpants, were always coyly hidden behind wide-spread sheets to keep them out of sight of passers-by!"

They were day laborers and after 1900 earned just enough for their day's work to buy a loaf of bread.

Heimatforscher Herbert Blatnik

"The best information center in Eibiswald"
Eibiswald local history researcher and school inspector Herbert Blatnik has also been able to unearth many interesting facts for the archive: "As laundresses, farm girls and 'colony wives' from Aibl were able to supplement their household income. They were day laborers and earned just enough for their daily work after 1900 to buy a loaf of bread."

In those days, the washing areas were also an important place of communication: "The washing bridge in front of the Deutschmann sawmill was the best information center in Eibiswald. On sunny days, around 20 women worked there. You could find out everything that was happening in the market there."

"The laundry women are funny"
The arrival of the washing machine and other circumstances meant that the washing places were gradually abandoned. This was occasionally met with regret, even melancholy. Today, women kneeling by a body of water and washing laundry are only known from old photos or films. The Eibiswald washerwomen's song proves that it must have been quite entertaining at times: "Lustig san mir Wäscherweiber, bei der Orbat kreuzfidöl. Short smocks, thick calves and a firm backside."

The exhibition "Die große Wäsche" can be seen until October and is expected to be presented again next year. The museum in the Kloepferhaus is open to visitors on Saturdays from 10 am to 12 noon. Requests for guided tours outside of these times can be made by email to [e-mail] or by telephone on 0664/99927116.

Josef Fürbass, Kronen Zeitung