Many people have heard Wilhelm Hauff's fairy tale "The Cold Heart" in their childhood and have felt a strange fascination with the nature described, the gnarled people and, of course, especially with the sinister Dutchman.
This fascination has also been retained by the men of the Upper Nagold Valley Rafting Guild, who have been involved with the profession of raftsmen since the association was founded in 1987. This profession characterised life in the Black Forest for more than 300 years and then disappeared at the beginning of the last century due to technological change.
The aim of the raftsmen's guild is to research, learn about and document the life and work of the raftsmen. It collects old equipment and learns how to use it. It looks after the "Monhardter Wasserstube" monument, a historic barrage built according to original plans, as well as a functioning wied oven. She also builds rafts and travels on them.
The raftsmen are popular participants in many parades. With their smart traditional leather costumes, their huge boots and their rafts on wheels, they are out and about in the summer months to portray the life and work of the raftsmen
They have received many awards for their work, including the cultural prize from the town of Altensteig and the Swabian Heritage Association as well as the "Mit Herz und Hand" citizens' prize from Sparkasse Pforzheim Calw. The Nagold raftsmen have also appeared in many radio and television programmes, in the ZDF feature film "Die Holzbaronin" and in the cinema film "Das kalte Herz".
