Treideln - treilen - trekken - jagen - bomätschen ...: vormaschineller ufergebundener Schiffsantrieb durch Seilzug auf Flüssen, Kanälen und in schmalen Hafenzufahrten ; eine kommentierte Bildauswahl

Abstract

With forty-three annotated illustrations extremely diverse in nature and provenance, the author documents a ship driving method that, many thousands of years old, was once of major significance with regard to the history of technology, transport and navigation, while today it has all but fallen into oblivion. The method referred to here is that of towing (German: treideln or any number of other terms such as treilen, trekken, jagen, bomätschen, etc., depending on the region), briefly defined in the sub-title above. A detailed discussion of the term treideln is followed by the identification and evaluation of historically relevant sources. The picture credits are divided into five sections: early towing in Europe (antiquity, Middle Ages); horse-powered towing in the Netherlands (17th - 20th centuries) with particular regard to the transport of passengers and mail by inland waterway vessel, a method that was highly advanced in that region and attained major significance under the designation "Trekvaart"; towing in East Friesland, Germany (19th - 20th centuries) and its special forms: the Ems River form, inland village and "Fehn" navigation (Fehn being the term for linear settlements built along canals in the high moor areas) as well as the (short-lived) "Treckfahrt" between cities; "Die schwere Arbeit" (hard work): reproductions of scenes from various cultures depicting towing by manpower: artistic interpretations which are often quite moving and in some cases also socio-critically expressive; several depictions of European horse-powered towing carried out in otherwise unusual dimensions. In conclusion, the author makes brief reference to a number of inland waterway vessel propulsion methods technically linked with towing, such as quanting, warping and cabletowing. This contribution is not conceived of as a (still-to-be-written) comprehensive treatment of the subject of towing, but - at the most - as a kind of supply source for various "pieces of the puzzle."