Marktplatz mit dem "Heckedotzbrunnen"

Market square with the "Heckedotzbrunnen" fountain

"The fountain on the market square in the district of Treis is adorned with a little man - the "Heckedotz" - a reminder of the village's past. Heckedetz were the people of Treis who worked the slopes of the Moselle valley and its tributary valleys (Dünnbach, Flaumbach, Gräthbach). In a first step, the bark (lohe) was peeled from the trunks and sold to loam mills. The raw material obtained in this way contained tannic acid, which was needed by the tanneries for the production of leather. In a further step, the peeled trunks were felled and chopped into firewood. This was very laborious work on the steep slopes. Both the logs and the wood had to be carried by muscle power to the nearest road, from where they were brought to the village several kilometers away by a team of cows or oxen.

"Heckedotz" in the true sense of the word were the children of these hedgerow builders, who brought their fathers the kettle after school. When they arrived at the hedgerow, they helped their father and made a fire to warm the meal.