Culture Heritage

Up until the beginning of the 20th century, night watchmen also ensured peace and order in the narrow lanes of villages in our part of the world. This was also the case in Liechtenstein's municipality of Mauren where the "Night Watchman's Horn" (face value: CHF 1.90) by Matthäus Schreiber (1861-1941) is kept in the collection of cultural artefacts.

It is said that he patrolled as a night watchman at the turn of the century and from 1919 to 1933 and used the piercing sound of his night watchman's horn to rouse residents and firefighters from their beds in the event of a fire.

The instrument has a metal-covered funnel and a wooden mouthpiece. It was made by the instrument makers Lippold Hamming in Markneukirchen, Saxony.

With its red and white cord, the night watchman could wear it around his upper body over his coat so that it was always ready to hand. Night watchmen were also often heard calling out the hours with a shout or song. However, this served less to tell the time and more as proof that they were doing their job properly. The nightly singing fell silent when time clocks were introduced to record working hours.