The towpath along the Gudenåen River

Facts

The main transport route into the Jutlandic interior

By Tina Knudsen Jensen, Cand.mag. i historie og nygræsk (3 stories)

Along the river Gudenåen, the footsteps of barge towmen have worn a path from Randers to Silkeborg. For many centuries, this river was the main transport route from Randers to the Jutland interior. Transportation was by flat-bottomed barges called kåge. Upstream into Jutland, the barges were towed by hired men or draft horses walking along the towpath. Downstream, the water and the wind eased passage along the river. To manoeuvre and propel the barges, the bargees used long bargepoles. The use of barges increased greatly in the mid 19th century, only to be relegated by the advent of the railways as the century drew to a close.

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Towmen were fighters

Story written by Tina Knudsen Jensen

Time / Periode 1807 1900

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Life was hard for the bargees and towmen, who were at the very bottom of society. Towmen were hired for single trips at a time. Their work consisted of towing the heavily laden barges from Randers to Bjerringbro. The bargees were also stigmatised by the many myths that surrounded them, such as their fondness for drink. Countless stories tell of their rowdiness after downing the Danish snaps. Brawls at the inns along the river were also commonplace. One innkeeper, on discovering a dead man in the stable after a brawl, exclaimed Thank God! It is only a towman. I feared it was a man". "