Cooperage

A cooper makes watertight containers out of wood. They make items like wooden utensils used in dairies to wooden bath tubs.
Peter Lässer is one of the last coopers in Vorarlberg. He learned his trade from his uncle. As a child he could often be found in his uncle‘s workshop. His father was a carpenter as well, so he had a strong relationship to wood while growing up. In the farmhouse next door, there used to be an old cooperage where six generations of coopers lived and worked. Peter Lässer worked there for 10 years. Spruce from this area is used for the utensils made for the dairies. The taste of resin in the Spruce complements the taste of the aging local „Bergkäse“ or Mountain Cheese. Fir, on the other hand develops an unpleasant taste when it is always wet. The so-called cream separator was used to separate the cream from the milk. A churn was used to make butter. Milk processing equipment is mostly used today by alpine dairies. Wooden barrels for storing good wines or the traditional cider, are made from oak. Since plastic containers started to be used, the work of a cooper has lost its significance. During the 2nd world war, there were 3 coopers in Hittisau alone. Traditionally, when you got married, one of the first places you would go to would be the cooperage to establish your household. At the beginning of the last century, a cooperage was an important place to get important goods like baby baths, milk separators, skimmers, or wooden spoons. Peter‘s uncle tried to dissuade him from choosing this trade because he saw that there wasn‘t much future in it. Even so, Peter Lässer still has enough work in this endangered handicraft, mostly in the spring, making wooden utensils for processing milk. There is also a lot of interest in his bathtubs made from Larch and tubs made from oak. Some of his bathtubs and tubs are used in Wellness facilities, and can be extravagant eye-catchers in a bathroom. The old Cooperage (in the next house) This listed Wälder House was built in the second half of the 18th century. The cooperage was located in the basement, and if you look through the cellar window, you can still see a lot of cooper tools. The house is also interesting from an historical point of view. It is the home of a well known public figure, after which the Ritter von Bergmann hall directly in the village centre, is named. On the side of the house that faces the village you can see an old three part round arched window under the gable. This is a typical local feature. On the top floor you can still see very old original windows. The wooden windows are protected from weathering by the casings that are all around them.
Taste 2

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Cooperage

The old Cooperage (in the next house)