The area of ​​the charcoal burners

In the heart of the Forêt d'Exception® de Haguenau, coal miners lived. Their important activity in the XNUMXth century was to make charcoal from beech. A little hidden by vegetation, one of the two ovens that were used to make charcoal is still visible today.

How the oven works? The cavity was filled with wood, the draft being ensured by the chimneys. The oven door was then closed to make sure it was watertight before lighting the whole thing “thanks to a metal rod ignited by a cloth”.

According to Charles Schlosser, the forest still hides charcoal pits, flat, round places where millstones were mounted and under which there is charcoal...