SEC: Mind the gap - Cultural heritage of wireworkers

In our school we have a special subject. Regional education. Our teacher Olinka Vonkomerová teaches pupils everything about the specifics of our region Podpoľanie. She focuses on famous personalities, folklore - music, songs, folk literature, customs and traditions, craft techniques, natural peculiarities and technical monuments. Having this unique subject in a curriculum, we preserve the beauty of Slovak cultural heritage of our ancestors for future generations. 

Did you know that wirework and its tradition was inscribed on the representative list of the intangible cultural heritage of mankind on 12 December 2019? It has thus become the seventh element that Slovakia has on the UNESCO list. In the past, Slovak wireworkers discovered wire for its practical use. They braided the pots so that they wouldn't break so easily, and even if they did, people could still use them. They invented a unique technology and transformed the work with the wire into forms and shapes that the world did not see. Thousands of wireworkers went to Europe, Asia, and America every year, and many have settled permanently in distant lands and built major companies.

The 7th grade students had a lesson about wirework. They braided the pots with a wire. Pupils used a special technique, typical for our region. Just like our ancestors always did. They created unique works with their own hands. Pupils gained new knowledge, experience and skills. They used copper wire, which was actually a waste material. The students were interested in the work and were satisfied with their products. We are grateful for the ideas of our ancestors. Without their ideas, we wouldn´t have the past, the present and also the future.

We honour and respect the values ​​they have created for us. We preserve them with love for our and for future generations too. And we are happy to present them to our partners in the E4L project in the Erasmus + programme.