Station: [34] Ground Floor: Kettlesmith Showcase


All that gleaming, glowing copper! The stylish watering cans proudly display their well-shaped spouts. The profession of the kettlesmith was once no less rich in tradition than that of the sheet metalworker or coppersmith. But it has vanished. Originally, the kettlesmith would have completed the same training as a sheet metalworker, and then specialised in making pans and kettles, pots, warming pans, lanterns, cans and other containers.

Even now, there are still master metal roofer who are inordinately fond of making elegant copper kettles. Copper kettles of every possible size, mind you! Have you noticed the tiny tea kettles? They really are record-breakers! They were painstakingly made from old German one Pfennig coins. And … at least in theory, they are fully functional!

 

All depictions: © Europäisches Klempner- und Kupferschmiedemuseum, Foto: Klaus Hofmann