Gutach / Baden-Württemberg / Germany
before 1910
Whitewashed straw-wicker, wool
The prominent headgear worn by women churchgoers in the Gutachtal has become an actual icon of the Black Forest over the last few decades. Traditionally it was worn only by women of the three neighbouring villages Gutach, Reichenbach und Kirnach. The hat form shown here, which needs about two kilos of wool, emerged in the 1950s but the beginnings of this festive hat go back to the mid-18th century. Hats with red pompoms are worn only by unmarried women; the married women have black pompoms. According to one of the many explanations in circulation the pompoms are a reference to the legend, according to which Christ's blood that dripped from the Cross turned into red roses, while Mary's tears at Jesus' tomb became black roses.
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