Klumpen (Wooden Shoes)

By Beth Tolfree

Visiting Hungary during the summer of 2009, virtually every stop my husband and I made, invariably we encountered Donauschwaben descendants; including a young woman from Apatin who was visiting Pecs.  In Pecs we stopped at an antique shop and I spotted a pair of “Klumpen” and even tried them on (they fit).  Sometime ago I learned that our Donauschwaben ancestors were accustomed to wearing wooden shoes and I was so intrigued that I had to have a pair.

The German word “Klumpen” (translated as “clod, lump, clot”) was
used for the wooden clogs that Donauschwaben wore in the wintertime.  Supposedly each family had at least two pair.  They were made by a Klumpenmacher, materials from soft poplar wood using various tools, including a Schnitzbank (a workbench used by wood carvers). 

According to Konrad Gerescher of the University of Szeged the art of making and the usage of these clogs was brought to the various Donauschwaben settlements by colonists coming from Lothringen.

(see: www.deutschforum.szeged.hu/bab/html; scroll down to paragraph 5.9 entitled “Klumpenmacher”)

These are pictures of the old wooden Klumpen I found in Pecs:

Last updated: 11/14/2026