Kannenbäckerland

The Kannenbäckerland ("potters' land") is a cultural landscape in central Germany, which extends from Wirges in the Westerwald hills to Bendorf and Vallendar in the Middle Rhine valley. The Kannenbäckerland owes its name to the fact that, in this region, the largest clay deposit in Europe was found and, since the 16th century, has been used to make the well-known grey and blue Westerwald Pottery.

In addition to pot making and, especially in Hilgert pipe making for the production of the clay pipes which were once common, pottery craftsmanship and training have also been concentrated in the Kannenbäckerland. Since 1879, Höhr-Grenzhausen has been home to the College of Ceramics, which later became part of the Ceramics Department of the Koblenz University of Applied Sciences. Its training comprises eight terms and it awards a diploma in materials engineering, glass and ceramics.

In addition to the University of Applied Sciences, six other specialist institutions joined forces in the Education and Research Centre for Ceramics (BFZK) and offer a competence network for ceramics that is unique in the world. This also led to the organization of the special exhibition "Ceramics - Material of the Future" at the World Exhibition for Expo 2000 in Hanover, which was organized by the BFZK. The BFZK includes, among others, the new business centre of CeraTech for ceramic technologies and materials, the Glass and Ceramics Research Institute, the Institute for Artistic Ceramics and Glass, various educational institutions and, of course, the Westerwald Pottery Museum.

The main sites of the clay industry developed from the main extraction areas near Wirges and down to the Rhine. Clay was extracted in Wirges, worked in the western districts of Höhr-Grenzhausen and Ransbach-Baumbach and stored on the Rhine near Bendorf and Vallendar for transportation to the markets. Other well known sites in the Kannenbäckerland are Bannberscheid, Ebernhahn, Hillscheid, Hilgert, Hundsdorf, Leuterod, Mogendorf, Moschheim, Nauort, Ötzingen, Sessenbach, Siershahn and Staudt.

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