I got this flax from ‘Berta’s Flax’, a guild set up by Christiane Seufferlein in order to preserve the tradition of flax working and to honour women’s lives. You can find out more about it here.
Thank you Christiane.
The flax belonged to Rosa Höglinger (Mühel, Sarleinsbach) who was married to husband Max. You can see a picture of her taken in 1949 here. Unfortunately, not much is known about her.
This flax would have been given to her as a dowry and put in a large chest. Such a practice was common in many parts of Europe in the early part of the 20th century. It acted as an insurance for hard times. At least the wife could make clothing for her family. Unfortunately, from the 1960’s, many of the chests of flax were burnt or buried. However, recently Christiane Seufferlein made it her mission to rescue these chests and to tell the stories of the women who once owned them.
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