I did my first cycling trip to a source of a medieval trading good, traded in Cologne. This is part of my retirement keep active plan. Combine local history, cycling and photography.
Steinzeug or stoneware is a type of pottery that has been taken up to 1.300 C or more and has vitrified. Stoneware is impermeable to water and much tougher than normal pottery. Stoneware was first produced and traded from Cologne from the 14th century onwards.
| Location | Visit | Remarks |
|---|---|---|
| Cologne | - | never with the focus on stoneware, there is of course the “Alter Markt” as the main market, and various places where historically it was produced |
| Frechen | yes | went to the Keramion, need to come back to look for the places the stoneware was produced |
| Siegburg | - | never with the focus on stoneware, various places where historically stoneware was produced |
| Raeren | - | open |
| Langerwehe | - | open |
| Badorf, Pingsdorf | - | open, both near Brühl |
| Westerwald (Höhr-Grenzhausen) | - | open |
| Aldenhoven | - | open |
Basically I really liked the Keramion, especially some of the modern stuff, but they also have a good selection of historical pieces.
The second part of the trip was me following the Keramikweg. In theory this would have included some of the locations of historic kilns, amongst other things. Unfortunately I did not find the kilns, have to go back and do some better research before I go. The other things take the stoneware tradition of Frechen via construction and industrial stoneware to today. My wife used to work for a company that exported stoneware sewage pipes throughout Europe.
Total trip, 43 km
I am going to use the hashtag #HistoryCycle on Mastodon and Micro.blog for this whole endeavour going forward.
Link to a summary of pottery in Cologne
www.fabriziomusacchio.com/weekend_s…
#HistoryCycle #stoneware #cycling