Klopotec
Encyclopedia
A klopotec is a wooden mechanical device on a high wooden pole, similar to a windmill
. It is used as a bird scarer
in the vineyard
s of traditional wine-growing landscapes of Slovenia
, Austria
and Croatia
. It is one of the symbols of Slovenia and Styria.
The windmill has six or eight blades driving an axis with a sail
or vane that is constructed to swivel so it is always positioned perpendicular to the wind. As the axis rotates, wooden hammer
s are lifted off their resting position by fixed notches. As they fall back, they rhythmically impact on a wooden board
. While the quality of the sound is dependent on the wood of which the hammers and sounding boards are made of, the rattle frequency depends on the number of hammers, as well as changes in wind speed.
The device is used primarily to scare starling
s and other birds off the vineyards so that they do not peck grapes, but also as a folk instrument
. A folk belief
also states that klopotecs drive snake
s from the vineyards and soften grapes.
it is called Windradl or Windmühle; ever increasing is the use of the word Klapotetz and also Klapotez. In English it could be described as a bird-scaring rattle, a wind-rattle or a wind-clapper.
claims that the device appeared in Haloze
and in Zagorje
already in the 16th century, nothing particular is known about its origin. An educated guess has been made that it developed during the period of the Enlightenment
. According to the most plausible theory held by the majority of ethnologists, including the German ethnologist Leopold Kretzenbacher, the bird-scaring rattle is of Slovene origin. Another theory claims that it was first used in the 18th century in the fields by the French.
The first written mentions of klopotec date to the second half of the 18th century, whereas its oldest depictions date to the first half of the 19th century. The device is also mentioned in the oldest Slovene social poem, Lamentation of a Winedresser, written in 1797 by Leopold Volkmer. Archduke Johann of Austria
(1782–1859), the youngest brother of the last Holy Roman Emperor
Francis II
, had it in his vineyard in 1836.
that scaries the birds away. The parts are:
The largest construction of this type stands in the Sausal
mountain range, near the summit of the Demmerkogel. It is 16 meters high, and its moving parts mass 3.4 metric tons. Each of the eight hammers weighs 40 kilograms.
(e.g., the Sausal
mountain range and the Weinstraße
) to Eastern Slovenia: Slovenske gorice
, Haloze
and Prlekija
(of which it is a symbol), less frequently in Lower Carniola
and White Carniola
. It can also be found in Southwestern Slovenia, in the Littoral Region
and in Croatia (in Zagorje
), but it is much rarer there. These areas traditionally produce white wines.
Traditionally such rattles have been set up on 25 July (Feast of Saint James
) or on 15 August (Assumption Day), but also on any day in between. They have usually been taken down after the vintage till 1 November (All Saints Day), but no later than on 11 November (Feast of Saint Martin
). If a husbandman forgets to take it down, the youth from the village can steal it and leave a message about the ransom that he must pay to get it back.
Some of these bird-rattle devices are ornamented with small carved figurine
s. The traditional types which are made solely from wood are becoming more and more rare, as they are getting replaced by devices with metal elements.
Windmill
A windmill is a machine which converts the energy of wind into rotational energy by means of vanes called sails or blades. Originally windmills were developed for milling grain for food production. In the course of history the windmill was adapted to many other industrial uses. An important...
. It is used as a bird scarer
Bird scarer
A bird scarer is any one of a number devices designed to scare birds, usually employed by farmers to dissuade birds from eating recently planted arable crops....
in the vineyard
Vineyard
A vineyard is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice...
s of traditional wine-growing landscapes of Slovenia
Slovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
and Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
. It is one of the symbols of Slovenia and Styria.
The windmill has six or eight blades driving an axis with a sail
Sail
A sail is any type of surface intended to move a vessel, vehicle or rotor by being placed in a wind—in essence a propulsion wing. Sails are used in sailing.-History of sails:...
or vane that is constructed to swivel so it is always positioned perpendicular to the wind. As the axis rotates, wooden hammer
Hammer
A hammer is a tool meant to deliver an impact to an object. The most common uses are for driving nails, fitting parts, forging metal and breaking up objects. Hammers are often designed for a specific purpose, and vary widely in their shape and structure. The usual features are a handle and a head,...
s are lifted off their resting position by fixed notches. As they fall back, they rhythmically impact on a wooden board
Sounding board
A sound board, or soundboard, is the surface of a string instrument that the strings vibrate against, usually via some sort of bridge. The resonant properties of the sound board and the interior of the instrument greatly increase loudness over the string alone.The sound board operates by the...
. While the quality of the sound is dependent on the wood of which the hammers and sounding boards are made of, the rattle frequency depends on the number of hammers, as well as changes in wind speed.
The device is used primarily to scare starling
Starling
Starlings are small to medium-sized passerine birds in the family Sturnidae. The name "Sturnidae" comes from the Latin word for starling, sturnus. Many Asian species, particularly the larger ones, are called mynas, and many African species are known as glossy starlings because of their iridescent...
s and other birds off the vineyards so that they do not peck grapes, but also as a folk instrument
Folk instrument
A folk instrument is an instrument that developed among common people and usually doesn't have a known inventor. It can be made from wood, metal or other material. It is a part of folk music...
. A folk belief
Folklore
Folklore consists of legends, music, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, fairy tales and customs that are the traditions of a culture, subculture, or group. It is also the set of practices through which those expressive genres are shared. The study of folklore is sometimes called...
also states that klopotecs drive snake
Snake
Snakes are elongate, legless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes that can be distinguished from legless lizards by their lack of eyelids and external ears. Like all squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales...
s from the vineyards and soften grapes.
Name
The device has many names. In Slovene it is called klopotec and in some dialects klapoc. Both words derive from klopotati, that is to produce cut off, rhythmic sounds. In GermanGerman language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
it is called Windradl or Windmühle; ever increasing is the use of the word Klapotetz and also Klapotez. In English it could be described as a bird-scaring rattle, a wind-rattle or a wind-clapper.
History
Although a local historian from MariborMaribor
Maribor is the second largest city in Slovenia with 157,947 inhabitants . Maribor is also the largest and the capital city of Slovenian region Lower Styria and the seat of the Municipality of Maribor....
claims that the device appeared in Haloze
Haloze
Haloze is a geographical sub-region of Slovenia. It is in the northeast of the country, in the Lower Styria region.-General characteristics:Haloze is a hilly area, running roughly east-west bounded by the border with Croatia to the south and the Dravinja and Drava rivers to the north...
and in Zagorje
Zagorje
Hrvatsko Zagorje is a region in northern Croatia.Zagorje may also refer to:*Zagorje ob Savi, a town and a municipality in Slovenia*NK Zagorje, a Slovenian football club-See also:...
already in the 16th century, nothing particular is known about its origin. An educated guess has been made that it developed during the period of the Enlightenment
Age of Enlightenment
The Age of Enlightenment was an elite cultural movement of intellectuals in 18th century Europe that sought to mobilize the power of reason in order to reform society and advance knowledge. It promoted intellectual interchange and opposed intolerance and abuses in church and state...
. According to the most plausible theory held by the majority of ethnologists, including the German ethnologist Leopold Kretzenbacher, the bird-scaring rattle is of Slovene origin. Another theory claims that it was first used in the 18th century in the fields by the French.
The first written mentions of klopotec date to the second half of the 18th century, whereas its oldest depictions date to the first half of the 19th century. The device is also mentioned in the oldest Slovene social poem, Lamentation of a Winedresser, written in 1797 by Leopold Volkmer. Archduke Johann of Austria
Archduke Johann of Austria
Archduke John of Austria was a member of the Habsburg dynasty, an Austrian field marshal and German Imperial regent .-Biography:...
(1782–1859), the youngest brother of the last Holy Roman Emperor
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...
Francis II
Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor
Francis II was the last Holy Roman Emperor, ruling from 1792 until 6 August 1806, when he dissolved the Empire after the disastrous defeat of the Third Coalition by Napoleon at the Battle of Austerlitz...
, had it in his vineyard in 1836.
Construction
A klopotec consists of different parts, each of which should (ideally) be made of a specific type of wood to produce a fine and melodic sound. The wood of hammers and of the board is especially important, as only the right combination enables that the device produces the ultrasoundUltrasound
Ultrasound is cyclic sound pressure with a frequency greater than the upper limit of human hearing. Ultrasound is thus not separated from "normal" sound based on differences in physical properties, only the fact that humans cannot hear it. Although this limit varies from person to person, it is...
that scaries the birds away. The parts are:
- stolček (block) - holds the axleAxleAn axle is a central shaft for a rotating wheel or gear. On wheeled vehicles, the axle may be fixed to the wheels, rotating with them, or fixed to its surroundings, with the wheels rotating around the axle. In the former case, bearings or bushings are provided at the mounting points where the axle...
; made from a hardwoodHardwoodHardwood is wood from angiosperm trees . It may also be used for those trees themselves: these are usually broad-leaved; in temperate and boreal latitudes they are mostly deciduous, but in tropics and subtropics mostly evergreen.Hardwood contrasts with softwood...
(e.g. chestnutChestnutChestnut , some species called chinkapin or chinquapin, is a genus of eight or nine species of deciduous trees and shrubs in the beech family Fagaceae, native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The name also refers to the edible nuts they produce.-Species:The chestnut belongs to the...
, oakOakAn oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...
or ashAsh treeFraxinus is a genus flowering plants in the olive and lilac family, Oleaceae. It contains 45-65 species of usually medium to large trees, mostly deciduous though a few subtropical species are evergreen. The tree's common English name, ash, goes back to the Old English æsc, while the generic name...
). - kvaka (axle) - holes are drilled into it and hammers or macleki are attached onto it.
- macleki (hammerHammerA hammer is a tool meant to deliver an impact to an object. The most common uses are for driving nails, fitting parts, forging metal and breaking up objects. Hammers are often designed for a specific purpose, and vary widely in their shape and structure. The usual features are a handle and a head,...
s) - should be set up in such a way that only one of them strikes at a time. The best wood is beechwood, but some other types of wood can be used. - deska (board) - macleki strike against it; made from chestnutChestnutChestnut , some species called chinkapin or chinquapin, is a genus of eight or nine species of deciduous trees and shrubs in the beech family Fagaceae, native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The name also refers to the edible nuts they produce.-Species:The chestnut belongs to the...
or cherryCherryThe cherry is the fruit of many plants of the genus Prunus, and is a fleshy stone fruit. The cherry fruits of commerce are usually obtained from a limited number of species, including especially cultivars of the wild cherry, Prunus avium....
. - viličice (pl.;little forkForkAs a piece of cutlery or kitchenware, a fork is a tool consisting of a handle with several narrow tines on one end. The fork, as an eating utensil, has been a feature primarily of the West, whereas in East Asia chopsticks have been more prevalent...
s) - hold macleki; made from oak or beechBeechBeech is a genus of ten species of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia and North America.-Habit:...
. - verižica (chainlet) - the board is hanged on it.
- rep (tail) - enables the rattle to turn with the wind; made from the sprigs of the oak, pinePinePines are trees in the genus Pinus ,in the family Pinaceae. They make up the monotypic subfamily Pinoideae. There are about 115 species of pine, although different authorities accept between 105 and 125 species.-Etymology:...
or other tree, as by these species the leaves remain attached for the longest time. Also an old broom can be used as a tail. - vetrnica (sail) - rotates in the wind and transfers the rotation onto the axle; made from poplarPoplarPopulus is a genus of 25–35 species of deciduous flowering plants in the family Salicaceae, native to most of the Northern Hemisphere. English names variously applied to different species include poplar , aspen, and cottonwood....
or firFirFirs are a genus of 48–55 species of evergreen conifers in the family Pinaceae. They are found through much of North and Central America, Europe, Asia, and North Africa, occurring in mountains over most of the range...
wood. Sail from Slovenske gorice has four blades, while the one from Haloze has six blades and the one from the Austrian Styria has eight blades. - zavora (brake) - part of especially large rattles; prevents them from stopping in a forceful wind.
The largest construction of this type stands in the Sausal
Sausal
The Sausal is a small mountain range in the southwestern parts of Austria's state Styria. It thrusts up from the northern banks of the Sulm valley, west of the district town of Leibnitz. Its highest point, the summit of the Demmerkogel, rises 671 m above the level of the Adriatic Sea. Large parts...
mountain range, near the summit of the Demmerkogel. It is 16 meters high, and its moving parts mass 3.4 metric tons. Each of the eight hammers weighs 40 kilograms.
Tradition
The klopotec is most frequently heard in the transnational region from Southwest StyriaStyria (state)
Styria is a state or Bundesland, located in the southeast of Austria. In area it is the second largest of the nine Austrian federated states, covering 16,401 km². It borders Slovenia as well as the other Austrian states of Upper Austria, Lower Austria, Salzburg, Burgenland, and Carinthia. ...
(e.g., the Sausal
Sausal
The Sausal is a small mountain range in the southwestern parts of Austria's state Styria. It thrusts up from the northern banks of the Sulm valley, west of the district town of Leibnitz. Its highest point, the summit of the Demmerkogel, rises 671 m above the level of the Adriatic Sea. Large parts...
mountain range and the Weinstraße
Weinstraße
The German Wine Route or Wine Road is the oldest of Germany's tourist wine routes. Located in the Palatinate region of the federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate, the route was established in 1935.-History:...
) to Eastern Slovenia: Slovenske gorice
Slovenske gorice
Slovenske gorice with an area of 1017 km2 is the largest hilly region of Slovenia, a smaller part is located in the Austrian province of Styria...
, Haloze
Haloze
Haloze is a geographical sub-region of Slovenia. It is in the northeast of the country, in the Lower Styria region.-General characteristics:Haloze is a hilly area, running roughly east-west bounded by the border with Croatia to the south and the Dravinja and Drava rivers to the north...
and Prlekija
Prlekija
Prlekija is a region in northeastern Slovenia between the Drava and Mura rivers. It comprises the eastern part of the Slovenian Hills , stretching from the border with Austria to the border with Croatia. It is part of the traditional province of Lower Styria. Together with the traditional province...
(of which it is a symbol), less frequently in Lower Carniola
Lower Carniola
Lower Carniola was a kreis of the historical Habsburg crown land of Carniola from 1849 till 1919 and is nowadays a traditional region of Slovenia. Its center is Novo Mesto, while other urban centers include Kočevje, Grosuplje, Krško, Trebnje, Mirna, Črnomelj, Semič, and Metlika.-See also:* Upper...
and White Carniola
White Carniola
White Carniola is a traditional region in southeastern Slovenia on the border with Croatia and is the most southern part of the historical and traditional region of Lower Carniola. Its major towns are Metlika, Črnomelj, and Semič, and the principal river is the Kolpa, which also forms part of the...
. It can also be found in Southwestern Slovenia, in the Littoral Region
Slovenian Littoral
The Slovenian Littoral is a historical region of Slovenia. Its name recalls the historical Habsburg crown land of the Austrian Littoral, of which the Slovenian Littoral was a part....
and in Croatia (in Zagorje
Hrvatsko Zagorje
Hrvatsko Zagorje is a region north of Zagreb, Croatia. It comprises the whole area north of Medvednica mountain up to Slovenia in the north and west, and up to the regions of Međimurje and Podravina in the north and east...
), but it is much rarer there. These areas traditionally produce white wines.
Traditionally such rattles have been set up on 25 July (Feast of Saint James
Saint James the Great
James, son of Zebedee was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus. He was a son of Zebedee and Salome, and brother of John the Apostle...
) or on 15 August (Assumption Day), but also on any day in between. They have usually been taken down after the vintage till 1 November (All Saints Day), but no later than on 11 November (Feast of Saint Martin
Martin of Tours
Martin of Tours was a Bishop of Tours whose shrine became a famous stopping-point for pilgrims on the road to Santiago de Compostela. Around his name much legendary material accrued, and he has become one of the most familiar and recognizable Christian saints...
). If a husbandman forgets to take it down, the youth from the village can steal it and leave a message about the ransom that he must pay to get it back.
Some of these bird-rattle devices are ornamented with small carved figurine
Figurine
A figurine is a statuette that represents a human, deity or animal. Figurines may be realistic or iconic, depending on the skill and intention of the creator. The earliest were made of stone or clay...
s. The traditional types which are made solely from wood are becoming more and more rare, as they are getting replaced by devices with metal elements.
Motif
- The Post of Slovenia issued a stamp worth 13 Slovenian tolarSlovenian tolarThe tolar was the currency of Slovenia from 1991 until the introduction of the euro on 1 January 2007. It was subdivided into 100 stotins...
s in 1997 featuring klopotec. The stamp was a part of the collection Slovenija - Evropa v malem ("Slovenia - Europe in Miniature"). - One of the meetings of Slovenian folk musicFolk musicFolk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
ians that happens annually is called Veseli klopotec ("Happy Klopotec"). - The Slovenian Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers for the Protection of Copyright (SAZAS) yearly confers the Zlati klopotec ("Golden Klopotec") award to the author of the best popular song in a Slovene dialect for that year.
External links
- A web page of the Post of Slovenia - general information about the stamp and a description of the device in English.