Station: [1] Pottery Town

Nobody really knows when the first pottery was produced in Bürgel. There are finds of potsherds and traces of settlements going back to the Bronze Age – some 4,000 years ago. And for the past 400 years, we have written evidence of the existence of pottery workshops.

The area surrounding Bürgel meets the three most important conditions for pottery production – it has clay, timber and trade links. 

The clay, which was probably dug locally in the town and the fields to the north, was of exceptionally good quality, easy to shape, and above all, very temperature-resistant. The timber needed for the firing process was freely available locally. Even now, this administrative district is called “Saale-Holzland” – where the Saale is the local river, and Holzland means “timberland”. And finally, in medieval times, the fortified settlement of “Burgelin” was close to two major trade routes – represented today by the A9 and A4 – both major roads that run north-south and east-west respectively. The river Saale served as an additional transport route.

But before they could be transported, the pots first had to be made! Find out how in the first chapter of our exhibition, just beyond the doorway and to the right.