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ReportOpen AccessPublished: October 2026

First use of a mobile stone workshop in the Lahn valley (Germany)

  • Frank Böwingloh1
  • Heiner Brodt2
  • Walter Oeffling3
Affiliations
  1. 1 Dienstleistungszentrum Ländlicher Raum (DLR) Westerwald-Osteifel, Montabaur, Germany
  2. 2 Waldems, Germany
  3. 3 Germany

International Terraced Landscapes Alliance Journal volume 4, issue 1, pp. 8–11 (2026) · Cite this article

Abstract

A mobile stone workshop was set up for the first time at the vineyard festival in Obernhof on the Lahn, on 6 and 7 June 2026, as part of the Lost Vine Place Lahn project. Using type boxes and templates, children and adults built small retaining walls without mortar, cairns on tripod bases and a round arch over its timber centring. The report describes how the format drew every age group into the craft, and into the case for keeping the dry-stone walls of the Lahn.

Keywords

  • mobile stone workshop
  • dry-stone walling
  • vineyard terraces
  • Lahn valley
  • intangible cultural heritage

A very successful playful hands-on activity for children and adults of the local communities of Obernhof and Weinähr as part of the “Lost Vine Place Lahn” project took place at the vineyard festival in Obernhof on 06 and 07.06.2026.

With the help of various type boxes and templates, small retaining walls made of natural stone could be built without any mortar. A special fun factor was the construction of small cairns on tripod bases and the well-attended round arch building.

A team of trainers, consisting of Walter Oeffling, Heiner Brodt and Frank Böwingloh, wanted to use this workshop to inspire all age groups for the traditional craft and cultural heritage of dry-stone wall construction on the Lahn and to sensitise them to the advantages of preservation.

In addition, there was further information on the ongoing application for the inclusion of dry-stone wall construction in the nationwide register of intangible cultural heritage in Germany and on the overall project on the Lahn.

Figure 1Figure 1Figure 1
Figure 1. Mobile Stone Workshop Lahn, Vineyard Festival Obernhof 06/07.06.2026. a) Work stations above the Lahn with type boxes, templates and sorted stone; b) information board announcing the hands-on activity for children and adults; c) building a round arch over its timber centring and a cairn on the work table. Photo: Frank Böwingloh, 2026.
Figure 2Figure 2Figure 2
Figure 2. Mobile Stone Workshop Lahn, Vineyard Festival Obernhof 06/07.06.2026. a) Completed dry-stone round arch over its timber centring; b) cairn on a tripod base above Obernhof; c) explaining a historic vineyard terrace wall to festival visitors. Photos: Frank Böwingloh; c) Heiner Brodt, 2026.

About the authors

  1. 1 Dienstleistungszentrum Ländlicher Raum (DLR) Westerwald-Osteifel, Montabaur, Germany
  2. 2 Waldems, Germany
  3. 3 Germany

Frank Böwingloh (Germany)

(born in 1963 in Gütersloh) is a trained gardener and landscape architect and has been working at the Public Service Centre Rural Area Westerwald-Osteifel in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate since 2004. He works as head of environmental planning in the field of land development and rural land consolidation. Among other things, he plans, organises, and supervises major dry-stone wall projects — including those in historic vineyard terraces — carried out by both professional contractors and civic engagement. He is also a successful tour guide and is committed to preserving the craft of dry-stone walling throughout. Trainer of the “Mobile Stone Workshop Lahn”

Heinrich Heiner Brodt (Germany)

Retiree and romantic, gastronomic activist, volunteer dry-stone wall builder – wherever one or two stones can be found, especially in the regions of the Rhine, Middle Rhine, Lahn, Moselle, and Nahe. Trainer of the “Mobile Dry- Stone Workshop Lahn” (born in 1953 in Paterberg/St. Goarshausen on the Middle Rhine), he is a trained chef and media designer with a focus on IT technology. He comes from a family of restaurateurs, craftsmen, farmers, and winemakers, with a strong commitment to nature conservation, landscape preservation, and sustainability. Stone has shaped his life path: born in the inn “Am Teufelstein” (Devil Stone inn) he built his first vineyard walls at the age of eight under the guidance of his grandfathers and father. Today, he is a dry-stone wall builder who passes on his acquired knowledge to future generations, contributing to the preservation of traditional craftsmanship, cultural landscapes, and the flora and fauna of his homeland in Germany, Europe, and worldwide.

Walter Oeffling (Germany)

(born in 1959 in Salmtal) is a landscape architect and worked until 2025 at the Public Service Centre Rural Area Moselle in Bernkastel-Kues and Trier (Rhineland-Palatinate) as head of environmental planning in the field of land development and rural land consolidation. He is currently retired. He is supporting the German Language ITLA network in Central Europe and focuses on projects in the field of landscape planning and works as an instructor in dry-stone wall construction.

Rights and permissions

Open Access. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons CC BY-SA 4.0 license, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source and indicate if changes were made.

About this article

Cite this article

Böwingloh, F., Brodt, H., & Oeffling, W. (2026). First use of a mobile stone workshop in the Lahn valley (Germany). International Terraced Landscapes Alliance Journal, 4(1), 8–11. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.23440559

Published
October 2026
Journal
International Terraced Landscapes Alliance Journal, ISSN 2754-7639 (Online)
  • mobile stone workshop
  • dry-stone walling
  • vineyard terraces
  • Lahn valley
  • intangible cultural heritage

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