The Paver

Largely unaffected by the economic boom, the Waldbröl district remained one of the poorest regions of the German Empire, mockingly referred to as “Haferspanien”. Poor soil and bad weather led to poor harvests. During the summer months, many men from the villages around Denklingen, Eckenhagen and Morsbach worked as masons and pavers in the big cities along the Rhine, Ruhr and Wupper rivers. In teams of setters, pounders and assistants, they laid millions of paving stones made of Bergische Grauwacke.

Work was carried out six days a week during good weather. An experienced worker could pave an area of up to 40 square metres in a shift of 10 to 12 hours. However, from the 1920s the number of orders fell steadily. New road surfaces made of asphalt and tar gained popularity and marked the decline of this itinerant trade.

The pavers’ wives remained in the villages and hamlets. They cared for the animals, worked the meagre fields and managed the household. During the winter months, the pavers – just like the stonecutters – found occasional work in leather factories or forestry in order to get by. The saved wages from their migrant work had to last until the following spring. During this time, the French word “pavés”, meaning pavers, was adapted into the local dialect as “Paveier”. To this day, the name is kept alive through the activities of a well-known carnival band from Cologne.

The migrant workers also found employment in the construction of reservoirs: the Eschbach Valley Reservoir near Remscheid is the oldest drinking water reservoir in Germany. Between 1889 and 1891, the 20-metre-high and 160-metre-long gravity dam was built using Bergische Grauwacke, according to the plans of the visionary civil engineer Otto Intze. Light railways were even used on the construction sites of the Lingese Valley Reservoir near Marienheide (1897–1900) and the Neye Valley Reservoir near Wipperfürth (1907–1909).