Carpet hanger
The outdoor carpet hanger (also carpet stand or carpet rack) is a construction to hang carpets for cleaning with the help of carpet beaters. It is known in Germany, Poland, Lithuania, the Czech Republic, Finland,[1] Sweden, Romania, Russia, and other countries.
Secondary usage[edit]
It was a small center of social life.[2] German writers Walter Benjamin and Erich Kästner described hangers as important places during their childhood.[3] Children may use it as a playground, as a soccer goal, as a drumming implement,[4] a gymnastic device,[5] etc.
Poland[edit]
In Poland the outdoor railing for hanging the rug is called trzepak (a noun from the word trzepać, "to beat"; the beater itself is called trzepaczka).
Since the 1990s, it is very rare to see anyone using a trzepak for its prime function [citation needed]. In the newest housing developments, trzepak are rarely installed.[citation needed]
Romania[edit]
In Romania the carpet hanger (bara de bătut covoare or bătător de covoare) was an important landmark in the social life of each neighbourhood during the communist and post-communist period, where it served as a meeting point for neighbours and was frequently used in children's games.[6] Before important holidays, queues would form around the railing, as few people owned a vacuum cleaner, and even those who did would still beat their carpets in order to 'freshen them up'.[7] During the rest of the year, "it was generally used as a football goal by the boys, while it suddenly transformed girls into Nadia Comăneci."[7]
The carpet hanger has been described as representing a sort of "Arc de Triomphe in front of the apartment block",[8] while writer Paul Gabor dubbed it "the ancestral belly of the totalitarian regime" during the communist era.[9]
In recent years, the carpet railing has been a topic of debate for urban planners and local authorities, as many Romanian cities have passed (and sometimes rescinded[10]) laws forbidding their placement or decreeing their immediate removal, citing aesthetic or noise pollution reasons.[11][12]
Sweden[edit]
In Sweden the carpet hanger is called piskställ, derived from piska (meaning "to whip") and ställ (meaning "stand").[citation needed]
References[edit]
- ^ "Carpet Racks in Finland", by Riitta Oittinen
- ^ Socjolog: dla wielu nastolatków galerie handlowe to współczesne podwórka
- ^ Thomas Blubacher, Wie es einst war: Schönes und Wissenswertes aus Großmutters Zeiten
- ^ "Užkliuvo kilimų dulkinimo stovas"
- ^ "Joanna Mucha chce rozruszać dzieci. "Kiedyś trzepak, dziś komputer i iPhone. Rośnie pokolenie sprawnego kciuka""
- ^ (ro)kit - Identitate romaneasca in 50 de componente - Alexe Popescu, Doru Somesan (in Romanian).
- ^ a b "Bara de covoare". www.vice.com (in Romanian). Retrieved 2022-04-21.
- ^ "RO-KIT | Promenada Culturala". 2017-05-21. Retrieved 2022-04-21.
- ^ "Țara mea suspendată (My Suspended Land) de Anca Mizumschi | TORO fest|Țara mea suspendată de Anca Mizumschi". torofest.ca. 4 October 2018. Retrieved 2022-04-21.
- ^ Live, Ziare. "Batatoarele de covoare si culmile de rufe pot fi montate din nou in Pitesti. Gentea a initiat un proiect de hotarare in acest sens". ZiareLive.ro (in Romanian). Retrieved 2022-04-21.
- ^ rootstirea. "Război cu bătătoarele de covoare și sârmele de rufe – ȘTIRI ZILNIC". Retrieved 2022-04-21.
- ^ "Culmile de rufe si batatoarele de covoare de prin incintele de bloc ar putea fi interzise la Onesti". Ziarul de Bacău (in Romanian). 2010-07-27. Retrieved 2022-04-21.
External links[edit]
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