Wood was already being transported by water in the first millennium BC . It is not known for certain when rafting was invented . But in the Bible ( 1 Kings 5:23 ) we can read that Hiram, the king of Tyre , tied trees (cedars, cypresses) into rafts and sent them to King Solomon so that he could use them to build the first temple in Jerusalem (around 950 BC). If several tree trunks were tied together, they made a raft that could be used to transport people and goods .
The rafting trade begins early in the morning when, in about two hours of work, the rafts for the day are assembled using 120 iron wedges , wire mesh and crossbeams.
The raft is dismantled into its individual parts a second time when the rafters load the rafts, which weigh up to 20 tons, onto the truck at the end of a raft trip and bring them back to the starting point.
AHA! Cool...
Economic Growth and Tax
In 1640, 24 guild raftsmen from Tölz were granted the right to travel to Munich twice a week with rafts loaded with goods and people . Some of these travel rafts (Ordinari rafts) then continued on the Danube to Vienna, which meant a journey time of around 100 hours .
The wood was often transported from the forested mountain regions to the lowlands || In this country, firs and spruces were generally used as raft wood , as hardwood was too heavy and was therefore used more as transport wood than as raft wood|| Rafting is a centuries-old craft , a living tradition that had enormous economic importance in Bavaria, for example|| For example, in 1473, 147 raft loads of timber were delivered for the roof truss of the Munich Frauendom alone
Counted rafts at the Floßlende Wolfratshausen
- year 1447: 1884 Floe
- year 1477: 2900 Floats
- year 1497: 3600 Floats
Ordinari rafts (travel rafts)
Although the new main trade route from Italy to Munich was built over the Kesselberg in 1487, the Isar continued to be the preferred transport route. This saved a lot of time and money for the transport of wine, olive oil, cotton, fabric, soap, non-ferrous metals, gold and silver goods, and fruit from Tyrol.
Before the rafting trip begins today...
Wood was already being transported by water in the first millennium BC . It is not known for certain when rafting was invented . But in the Bible ( 1 Kings 5:23 ) we can read that Hiram, the king of Tyre , tied trees (cedars, cypresses) into rafts and sent them to King Solomon so that he could use them to build the first temple in Jerusalem (around 950 BC). If several tree trunks were tied together, they made a raft that could be used to transport people and goods .
Incredible
No single women to steer the rafts
" In the name of His Majesty the King of Bavaria:
It happens that single women are used to steer the rafts during rafting trips. However, since female individuals cannot generally be employed for this purpose because they are knowledgeable about rafting and sufficiently fit, and since the way of life of the raftsmen, particularly living with them in overnight hostels, is very detrimental to morality, and complaints have already been made about this, the undersigned sees itself compelled to draw attention to the impermissibility of using single women to steer the rafts and to call on the district police authorities to publicly announce this ban in the communities concerned and to continue to enforce it.
Munich, December 13, 1841 "
What exciting things are there to see?
Longest Raft Slide in Europe
It is the highlight of a raft tour on the Isar to Munich. The longest raft slide in Europe is located at the Gasthaus zur Mühle (Straßlach). With a length of 365 m and a height difference of 18 m, you plunge back into the Isar at 40 km/h. A truly "sparkling" experience on the raft. Be sure to join in!
Europe's longest Isar raft slide in Straßlach