The Boatmen's Mast

As long as the Rhine has been navigable, the villages situated along the river have provided a significant contingent of boatmen, incorporating a whole range of professions, from cabin boy to captain, from cook to mechanic. In the 1950s, Mothern numbered some 150 boatmen (almost a third of Mothern's households), who formed an association. They then erected a mast on the village square (Place de la Wacht), similar to a boat's mast, but much more imposing. On feast days, this mast is decorated with a multitude of pennants and banners in the colours of the nations and shipping companies present on the Rhine. It reminds us of the Rhine's important economic role for the villages along its course.