LOG RAFTS ON THE SALZA RIVER

The full index of our ship stamp archive
Post Reply
aukepalmhof
Posts: 7771
Joined: Thu Apr 02, 2009 1:28 am

LOG RAFTS ON THE SALZA RIVER

Post by aukepalmhof » Thu Jan 30, 2020 7:49 pm

For centuries in Austria, logs were brought to its downstream destinations on the Salza River using log rafts.

Wood, which was needed in the up-and-coming settlements as construction and firewood and especially in the form of charcoal for the operation of the iron factories, was harvest from the wood-rich valleys, along the Salza River.
Before the construction of the railways, timber transport on rivers in Austria over long distances was the only possibility. But still in the first half of the 20th century, when railway lines already existed, most of the logs were rafted down the river.

Log rafts made of long logs were used for transport. The log raft at the same time transported shorter logs on top of the raft as cargo and also plywood was occasionally carried as an overhead load. The required logs were connected to each other to form a raft with the width and length suitable for river transport.

On the Salza, the rafts had a length of 18 to 22 m and a width of four to almost five meters. Two rudders were used at the bow and stern for control. The amount of wood on a raft corresponded to about 20 to 25 solid meters.
Until the village of Brunn there were two men on the raft, from Brunn to the confluence with the Enns River four men.

The log rafting on the Salza River was finally ended in 1952.

Source: Internet and Wikipedia.
Austria 1947 8g + 2g sg 1010, scott?
Attachments
raft on the Salza River photo.jpg
1947 Wood-raft-on-the-Salza-river.jpg

Post Reply