In the Black Forest, tinder or fire sponge manufacture went hand in hand with the brush industry in the days when no one knew anything about matches. At that time, a linen rag soaked in oil was used to make a fire, and it was lying in a tin can. Over the can, a flint was held and sparks were struck with steel. The tinder then took the place of the linen cloth. The tinder was also used as a hemostatic agent.
Due to its softness and lightness, it was also suitable for making hats, which were often worn in the country. A tinder of special size even became a robe for the bishop of Freiburg manufactured. The tinder comes from the holey fungus Polyporus fomentarius or the willow sponge Polyporus ignarius , which parasitizes on beeches, oaks, linden, willow, ash and other trees and was often found in the Black Forest and the Eifel in the past.
When these areas were no longer productive, this raw material was allowed to come from Hungary, Transylvania and Southern Slavia in bales of four hundredweight each. The sponge produced pieces the size of a fist, even quite sizeable plates. Of the three tinder factories in Baden, two were in Todtnau. They did brisk business and gave many residents a reasonable income. They guarded the secret of the preparation with great trepidation. The dry, hard, solid mass was softened by long cooking in a lye and cooked in hydrochloric acid.
The pieces intended to stop bleeding were not soaked. The tinder was colored darker according to your wishes and taste. A piece processed in this way was then often enlarged tenfold by tapping, giving it a spongy appearance, dried in the sun or in the oven and then kneaded by hand and then pulled.
Depending on requirements, the pieces were cut into thin strips or made into caps or hats without a seam. The value of the piece depended on its size, sponginess, softness and shape. One of the Todtnau tinder factories produced hundredweight of tinder in Then matchmaking put tinder on the extinction list. Around there were no more tinder factories in Todtnau. To commemorate the tinder making in , the clique of fools of the " Todtnauer Zundelmacher " founded. If you agree to these technologies, we and our partners may process personal data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this website and display non- personalized advertising.
