The Schoberbau

Building a rick is arduous and time-consuming, but tried and tested. Anyone who has ever been to our tranquil village knows that all the farmsteads on the Kaupen (islands) are very small. There is rarely much space for a large barn to store the hay – at most in the hayloft of the barn. This lack of space gave rise to the barns.

The first mowing for the hay harvest usually takes place in June. When the weather is nice and dry, the grass is mowed with a tractor and mower, or with a scythe as in the past. In the days that follow, the drying hay is turned and finally “… swathed …”, i.e. raked together. At the same time, the push point is prepared near a stream so that it can be reached from the water. The scaffolding is made of wooden poles. A short pole – or “mosquito” – is placed in each corner and then wooden poles are placed crosswise on top. The 4-6 meter high Schoberstange is enthroned in the middle.

On a warm afternoon, when the hay is dry, the rick building begins. In the past, the hay was collected in piles with two long wooden poles. As a “full-grown” barn can hold up to 20 quintals of hay, this is not without its problems in warm summer weather. The dry hay is then packed onto the prepared scraper with pitchforks. One of them stands on top and treads the hay firmly, always all around the rick. The other forks up from below. This gradually increases the height, which is why the handle of the pitchfork is extended several times.

Towards the end, the rick must be “pulled together”, i.e. the tip must be shaped, preferably “pear-shaped”: slightly narrower at the bottom, slightly bulbous in the middle and pointed at the top. This shape allows the rain to run off best. The haystack is crowned by a wreath twisted from hay. This protects the rick so that no water runs into the hay at the top of the rick pole.