The ancient craftsmanship takes in the Ötztal a rather modest setting. Only for their own needs you will find small farms, which are mainly due to the peasant origin.

In Ötz we find a farmer, who maintains a small sawmill for his business and, if necessary, even works on his tree trunks, which he picks from his own forest.

The machinery of the sawmill seems primeval, but still fulfills its purpose. In a block frame several saw blades are housed, which are driven by a chain mechanism. The tree trunk is held on its path with a pair of pliers and pulled over the chainwork in the up and down rotating saws. In this way, eight to ten boards are cut from the trunk depending on the size. The farmer tells us that he maintains and repairs the machine himself. The saw blades must be sanded from time to time. The sawmill consists mainly of pure mechanics. Pure muscle power is required in this work.

Nothing has changed for hundreds of years. How long will this gem still be preserved for posterity? In other regions you have to look for a long time for such craft facilities. Often they are already to be found in a museum today.