Traditional chimney sweep headdress. The profession of a chimney sweep from the Middle Ages to the present day. Profession and history of a chimney sweep

For almost 400 years, the chimney sweep profession has been one of the most respected in Northern Europe. While the frosts are crackling, many people in cities are still clinging to stoves and fireplaces. And they are waiting for a chimney sweep to ensure they are in good working order.

Chimneys must be cleared of soot in a timely manner, otherwise one cannot avoid the disaster that occurred in Copenhagen in 1728, when almost a third of the city burned down in one day and every fifth resident found himself homeless. True, the fire brought not only losses, but also allowed the city to be renovated, and Copenhagen began to shine with Scandinavian beauty - restrained and functional. In order to save it, it was decided to consider the problem of draft of stoves and fireplaces as a state issue. Soon after the fire in Copenhagen, a decree was issued on the creation of a chimney sweep craft shop, and Denmark's European neighbors followed the example.
At the same time, three and a half centuries ago, the image of a chimney sweep was formed: a puny boy, capable of crawling into, as they say, any hole, in black trousers and a frock coat, with a ladder, pipe cleaners and a coil of rope with a weight at the end.
The chimney sweep is believed to bring good luck. As soon as they see him on the street, the kids rush towards him as fast as they can and try to touch the stairs, the shiny button on his coat, and even better, his top hat. But to do this, the chimney sweep must bend down. However, knowing about the omen, the man in the top hat, who was once a child himself, bows his head to the children. He willingly answers questions about what year it will be like, when the snow will fall and how to become a chimney sweep. And to the main thing: why does he need the uncomfortable headdress that riders and magicians wear?
“You climb into a chimney, but you don’t know how tightly the bricks are attached to each other,” says Andreas Kahlert, a resident of the German city of Essen, who has enjoyed working on other people’s chimneys for 47 of the 62 years of his life. - No, no, and something will fall on your head. The cylinder is a lifesaver, because it is covered with thick fabric, and underneath there is a metal frame made of mesh. All this softens the blow.
– So, maybe it’s easier to put on a construction helmet? It will be stronger!
– She’s not as smart as a black top hat.

2.


Well, a brick is not a brick, but in any case, a chimney sweep should be prepared for the unexpected. After all, many, unfortunately, died, as they say, at work: some suffocated, some were struck by lightning... No one is immune from troubles even today. This is explained by the exhibition of the Italian Chimney Sweep Museum (Museo dello Spazzacamino), located in Santa Maria Maggiore, a town in the Piedmont region with a population of 1,300 souls, a few meters from the Swiss border.
However, there are details that Italians are in no hurry to tell foreigners about. Previously, the work of a chimney sweep was often forced. This was especially true for children from poor families. In order to somehow make ends meet, parents were forced to send their 6-7 year old sons to work. So children who were able to crawl into chimneys received shelter, food and professional skills at the same time. They were often sent abroad - to neighboring France and Germany.
The merciless exploitation of child labor in the 16th-17th centuries, in the wake of Italian emigration to more prosperous neighbors, ended recently, in the 40s of the last century. It is difficult to call the monument to a little chimney sweep installed in Malesco, a town in Piedmont, a hymn to joyful work - the work of the Milanese sculptor Luigi Turegi. The prototype was Faustino Cappini, a fearless boy, a kind of Piedmontese Gavroche, who was electrocuted on the roof - he did not see the exposed wire in time.

3.

International meetings of chimney sweeps take place in Santa Maria Maggiore. Annual gatherings are held on the first weekend of September and bring together those who take pride in their profession. The main event usually takes place on Saturday evening at the Teatro Comunale. For example, last year September was marked by the premiere of the play “The Little Chimney Sweep Saves the King of France.” It must be said that the motive of salvation is quite traditional. They say that in England, chimney sweeps are still invited to wedding celebrations in the homes of wealthy citizens, because, according to one legend, the chimney sweep saved the life of King George III.
Such meetings (more than thirty of them have already taken place, and the last one was attended by more than a thousand people) are very eventful. Reception at the city hall, trips to villages where ancient chimneys are still revered, delegations exchanging souvenirs (usually national alcoholic drinks) and singing songs...

4.

The work of a chimney sweep is not easy. And today it is paid quite decently in most Western countries. International meetings often end with the collection of donations. It was decided to send the last collection - 330 thousand euros - to a fund for helping disabled children.
“A miracle is possible!” - people in top hats say with their shares. They are not wizards. But they know how to do good. In general, chimney sweeps have been credited with unusual features since ancient times. Sometimes unexpected plot lines were woven into ordinary biographies: they say, this boy looks a lot like a local duke, is he really an illegitimate son? ?! Involuntarily, you will begin to be wary of the grimy chimney sweep, who can go from a commoner, whom everyone makes fun of, to an inhabitant of rich chambers.

5.

The great Andersen himself, a century after the famous fire in Copenhagen, could not resist the temptation to endow the porcelain chimney sweep in his fairy tale with a soul. The storyteller explained: “He was only portraying a chimney sweep, and the master could have made him a prince in the same way - all the same! He stood gracefully, with a ladder in his hands, and his face was white and pink, like a girl’s, and that was a little wrong, he could have been a little crazy. He stood very close to the shepherdess - as they were placed, that’s how they stood. And if so, they went ahead and got engaged. The couple went anywhere: both are young, both are made of the same porcelain and both are equally fragile.” And although they had to return to the mirror table, the chimney sweep managed to show the shepherdess how beautiful the stars are in the night sky. And in the canvas of the 19th century St. Petersburg artist Firs Zhuravlev, a chimney sweep, hoping for his luck, tries to attack the next obstacle in the form of a white-haired cook who is mopping the floors in the kitchen. The grimy face of the chimney sweep is not very attractive, but it attracts people like a magnet. After all, if a person is always on top, as they say, then he undoubtedly enjoys favor from above. And if such an opportunity presents itself - to meet a chimney sweep and touch him - it would be a sin not to take advantage of it. Perhaps you too will get a piece of his luck.

Matvienko Nikolay

02.02.2014, 23:56

Chimney sweep courses are opening in Moscow at the Russian Academy of Crafts.
In January 2014, we launched the 30th anniversary group of stove makers. And in March we plan to launch the first group of chimney sweeps. In the Moscow region there is an acute shortage of young chimney sweeps in Moscow companies specializing in chimney cleaning. Now in Moscow and the region there are about 20 chimney cleaning companies, but they do not have specialist chimney sweeps.

03.02.2014, 11:30

Now in Moscow and the region there are about 20 chimney cleaning companies, but they do not have specialist chimney sweeps.

At least read what you write - there are companies, but no specialists.
Who works there then - Central Asian migrant workers???

Matvienko Nikolay

03.02.2014, 11:53

Valery. You guessed wrong. Blacks and Puerto Ricans work there. This is too smart a job for a migrant worker. Staff turnover is high. They can’t stand it and deflate.

07.02.2014, 01:10

Now there are about 20 chimney cleaning companies in Moscow and the region, but they do not have specialist chimney sweepers. Where does this information come from? The information is absolutely not correct.
There is an acute shortage of young chimney sweeps in Moscow companies specializing in chimney cleaning. Well, there are not many of them in the Moscow Region, and in Moscow there is no extreme need.
Personnel turnover is high. Where do you get such linden? You have not an informant, but a provocateur. There are several training centers in Moscow where chimney sweeps are trained and recertified. And what’s typical is that at the annual recertification I see the same faces for many years. There is turnover, but it is minimal. By the way, training at the plant is cheap, recertification is even less. And you?

They can’t stand it and deflate. Can't they really stand high salaries? ;)

Chimney sweep courses are opening.
In January 2014, we launched the 30th anniversary group of stove makers. You rivet quickly... It seems to me that the goal is not so much to train as to earn money.

07.02.2014, 19:54

07.02.2014, 21:47

:D
Oto w.
It’s still clear with stove makers, they really don’t teach it anywhere (in Nerezinova and the surrounding area), at least some kind of excuse. But chimney sweeps are taught quite well...
Tell me, what do you think it means to “really train to be a stove maker”? Again: “But chimney sweeps are trained and not badly...” By what criteria can one determine the quality of training for both?

Matvienko Nikolay

23.02.2014, 18:37

The criteria are determined by the market. If there is demand, people come. Interesting courses - there is a queue. You can open master classes NORTH, MERANIK, SELIVAN. Open courses for stove makers, or fireplace makers. The law doesn't prohibit it. The main thing is to recruit people. And people are picky these days. They won't pay for show-offs.

Matvienko Nikolay

23.02.2014, 18:56

Matvienko Nikolay

28.04.2014, 15:45

28.04.2014, 21:30

In the NTV program “Own Game” they filmed our RAR chimney sweeps and asked questions. Like.
In 1639, chimneys were cleaned for the first time in the king's castle, and a century later, the first professional chimney sweep appeared in this Scandinavian kingdom. A country?

When mechanically cleaning a chimney, a weight and another object that is familiar to any housewife are tied to a long cable. Which subject?

In 1840, Great Britain banned such people from working as chimney sweeps, whose work was very widely used before the ban. What kind of people are these?

Meeting a chimney sweep is good luck, especially for a wedding procession. But a chimney sweep must certainly be like that. What kind?

In the USSR, the chimney sweep trade union existed in this capital. In the Old Town there are still houses with stove heating. Name the capital.

This traditional headdress often protected chimney sweeps from something heavy falling from above. What kind of headdress is this?

It is a very fire hazard, which is why it is necessary to clean chimneys of it. What is this?
1 perhaps Denmark?
2 met. brush
3 probably children
4dirty
5Estonia? Tallinn?
6 cylinder
7 soot

The second game of the first cycle of the “Golden Dozen” of 2014.

Participants

Artyom Moskalenko

Igor Kalgin

Alexander Bulavchuk

• Artyom Moskalenko, economist from St. Petersburg
• Igor Kalgin, information technology specialist from Voronezh
• Alexander Bulavchuk, teacher from Krasnoyarsk

Progress of the game

First round

Themes:

• Names
• Around sports
• Languages ​​of the world
• The vagaries of the weather
• Museums
• Ends with "U"

Names (500)

Auction question. Boxer George Forward gave all five sons the name George. The eldest was named George Jr. What did he call the others?

Igor plays. Bet - 500 (nominal).
Player response: Second, third, fourth
Correct answer: Third, fourth, fifth, sixth

Names (400)

In honor of his son, Georgy Danelia named the hero of this film Nikolai.

Correct answer: "I'm walking around Moscow"

Names (300)

This common Italian name given to a Soviet child meant “Lenin is dead. The idea is alive."

Alexander answers.
Correct answer: Luigi

Names (200)

Theophilus Mozart changed his Greek name to the Latin Amadeus. In both versions, the name meant exactly that.

Alexander answers.
Correct answer: Loving God

Names (100)

This name, invented by the poet Vostokov, was glorified by the ballad of Vasily Zhukovsky.

Alexander answers.
Correct answer: Svetlana

Languages ​​of the world (500)

The French of the 15th century called a volunteer or mercenary. now - an adventurer or just a rogue.

Correct answer: Adventurer

Ends with "U" (500)

Ends with "U" (500)

Since ancient times, Arab merchants plied the Indian Ocean on these single-masted boats with slanting sails.

Igor answers.
Correct answer: Dow

Museums (500)

A unique museum in the city of Kamyzyak, Astrakhan region, will tell you all about this delicacy.

Alexander answers.
Correct answer: About watermelons

Weather vagaries (500)

The Russian heat record - 45.4 degrees - was recorded at the Utta weather station on July 12, 2010 in this federal subject.

Artyom answers.
Correct answer: Kalmykia

Museums (400)

At the opening of the Museum of Three Actors, he cut the ribbon and left a note in the guest book: “I’m leaving shocked!”

Correct answer: Yuri Vladimirovich Nikulin

Museums (300)

In front of the entrance to this museum, founded by Albert I, there is a real submarine.

Artyom answers.
Correct answer: Oceanographic Museum in Monaco

Museums (200)

When you visit their new museum in Stockholm, you can sit in the mini-helicopter from the Arrival album cover and sing along with the holographic characters.

Alexander answers.
Correct answer: "ABBA"

Languages ​​of the world (300)

The Czechs call this time of year “podzim”.

Alexander answers.
Correct answer: Autumn

Around sports (500)

Around sports (500)

This Russian ballerina participated in the training of Sonya Henie, who became the champion of three Olympics.

Igor answers.
Player response: Anna Pavlova
Correct answer: Karsavina

Around sports (400)

In 1928, this most popular sport was excluded from the Olympic program. Like a professional.

Correct answer: Tennis

Around sports (300)

In 1919, after five games between the Montreal Canadiens and the Metropolitans, Seattle officials canceled the remaining games for this reason. The Stanley Cup was left without an owner.

Artyom answers.
Correct answer: Due to the flu epidemic

Languages ​​of the world (400)

About love (500)

Cat in a poke. Subject: About love. We think you can easily guess what the word “love” is made of.

Igor plays. The bet is 500.
Correct answer: Chamomile petals

Ends with "U" (400)

In her native village of Trusheny they nicknamed her “fata kare kynta” - “the girl who sings.” And in the ensemble “Friendship” the singer replaced Edita Piekha.

Artyom answers.
Player response: Sofia Rotaru
Correct answer: Maria Petrovna Codreanu

Museums (100)

Museums (100)

Her home is presented in the Museum of Myths and Superstitions of the Russian People in Uglich.

Alexander answers.
Correct answer: Baba Yaga

Weather vagaries (400)

Director Bekmambetov, who shot this film, had to go to St. Petersburg for snow, but there was no winter there either. I had to use synthetics.

Alexander answers.
Correct answer: The Irony of Fate. Continuation

Weather vagaries (300)

Moscow theaters (500)

Cat in a poke. Subject: Moscow theaters. On April 15, 1956, the shocked spectators did not leave, but spent the night talking with the actors-graduates of the Moscow Art Theater School. Two years later the creation of this theater studio was announced.

Igor plays. The bet is 500.
Correct answer: "Contemporary"

Ends with "U" (300)

Artyom answers.
Correct answer: Timbuktu

Ends with "U" (200)

On the coat of arms of this state, the vicuña represents fauna, the cinchona tree represents flora, and the cornucopia represents wealth.

Artyom answers.
Correct answer: Peru

Ends with "U" (100)

In the novel “Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands,” he brought out 137 real people under his own names.

Igor answers.
Correct answer: Georges Eamadu

Weather vagaries (200)

Some Britons were still happy about the cold March of 2013: more than 400 of these establishments were closed due to bad weather.

Correct answer: Schools

Weather vagaries (100)

Last fall, this Haiyan not only badly battered the Philippines, but also forcibly detained fifty Russians there.

Alexander answers.
Correct answer: Typhoon

Around sports (200)

In Jack London's story "A Piece of Meat," veteran Tom King lost to a young opponent after entering the arena half-starved.

Alexander answers.
Correct answer: Boxing ring

Around sports (100)

They are beaten and beaten, and they get higher and higher.

Artyom answers.
Correct answer: Records

Languages ​​of the world (200)

The languages ​​used by such people in the US and UK are completely different.

Alexander answers.
Correct answer: Deaf and mute

Languages ​​of the world (100)

The proverb ends with the words “before the mind speaks,” but it begins exactly like that.

Artyom answers.
Player response: Tongue like a broom
Correct answer: My tongue is my enemy

Round result

• Artyom - 1 200
• Maksim - 600
• Alexei - 2 600

Second round

Themes:

• Russian poets
• Golden theme
• Questions from…
• People and animals
• Films about war
• Vessels

Questions from… (400)

Questions from a chimney sweep

The chimney sweep asks questions Anatoly Tarasov.
This is the traditional headdress of a chimney sweep, which often saved him from falling objects from above. What kind of headdress is this?

Alexander answers.
Correct answer: Cylinder

Questions from… (600)

Meeting a chimney sweep is good luck, especially if he is met by a wedding procession. But a chimney sweep should be like that. What kind?

Alexander answers.
Correct answer: Grimy

Questions from… (800)

When mechanically cleaning a chimney, a weight or any other weight and another object very familiar to housewives are tied to a long cable. please name it.

Alexander answers.
Correct answer: Yorshik

Questions from… (200)

It is a very fire hazard, so it is necessary to periodically clean chimneys from it. What is this?

Artyom answers.
Correct answer: Furnace soot

Questions from… (1,000)

In 1639, chimneys were cleaned for the first time in one of the kingdom's castles. A century later, the first professional chimney sweep appeared in the same Scandinavian country. Please name this country.

Alexander answers.
Correct answer: Denmark

People and animals (1,000)

Scottish scientists have established: besides humans, only these animals “call” each other by name.

Artyom answers.
Correct answer: Dolphins

Each individual has its own individual whistle.

People and animals (800)

People and animals (800)

In a park in the ancient Japanese capital of Nara, hundreds of these sacred animals roam free, and visitors feed them crackers.

Alexander answers.
Correct answer: Lani

Gold Theme (600)

In Yakutia, the torch of the Sochi Paralympics was lit this way during the relay race.

Artyom answers.
Player response: From the sunlight
Correct answer: From a molten bar of gold

People and animals (600)

Wayne Klinkel's golden retriever "ruined" his owner $500 by doing this. Having studied the issue, the Federal Treasury compensated for the damage.

Alexander answers.
Correct answer: Ate the bills

People and animals (400)

Polar pilot Ilya Mazuruk moved this Fomka from Kotelny Island from his apartment to the Moscow Zoo.

Igor answers.
Correct answer: White bear cub

Films about war (1,000)

Defense Minister Grechko convinced Bondarchuk to film his memoirs: “We’ll give everything, we’ll provide for everyone.” But for the 30th anniversary of the victory, the director made this film.

Igor answers.
Correct answer: "They fought for their homeland"

Films about war (800)

On February 24, 1960, this joint film premiered in Paris; in two weeks - in Moscow.

Igor answers.
Correct answer: Normandy-Niemen

Films about war (600)

The film “In War as in War” is dedicated to the fallen and living soldiers of the 3rd Guards Tank Army of this marshal.

Correct answer: Rybalko

Films about war (400)

Auction question. The Japanese filmed the attack on Pearl Harbor for 4 years. This admiral, who tried to settle the matter peacefully until the last moment, was played by Ko Zeikushaku.

Igor plays. Bet - 2,800 (all-in).
Correct answer: Evamotto

Films about war (200)

Evgeny Tashkov filmed “Major Whirlwind” in Lviv, but the heroes save this city from destruction.

Alexander answers.
Correct answer: Krakow

Russian poets (1,000)

France (1,000)

Cat in a poke. Subject: France. On a map published about a century ago, the flirtatious old lady France holds in her hand the peninsula of Brittany, depicted as this.

Artyom plays. The bet is 1,000.
Player response: Fan
Correct answer: Mirror

People and animals (200)

Since 2011, these Russian professionals have celebrated their holiday on August 31, the day of remembrance of Saints Florus and Laurus, the patron saints of livestock.

Artyom answers.
Correct answer: Veterinarians

Gold theme (800)

Russian furs have long been an export item, valued no less than oil, and it was not without reason that they received this nickname.

Alexander answers.
Correct answer: "Soft Gold"

Vessels (1,000)

This Scottish physicist turned Weinhold's glass box for liquefied gases into a double-walled flask with a narrow neck to reduce evaporation.

Alexander answers.
Correct answer: James Dewar

Vessels (800)

Vessels (800)

In the Meijijingu Monastery in Tokyo, this is stored in similar barrels.

Artyom answers.
Correct answer: Sake

Vessels (600)

In the Russian system of measures, a bucket consisted of 16 measured or 20 trade. What are we talking about?

Correct answer: Bottles

Vessels (400)

It is the largest blood vessel in the human body.

Igor answers.
Correct answer: Aorta

Russian poets (800)

The teacher of Russian and literature does not recognize the “minor” Boratynsky; historian Melnikov sarcastically: “He has already been transferred to the primary.” Name the movie.

Igor answers.
Correct answer: "We'll live until Monday"

Russian poets (600)

He did not want to translate Phaedrus’s fables because of the “obscene content,” and he himself “wrote shameful poems.”

Artyom answers.
Player response: Pushkin
Igor answers.
Correct answer: Ivan Semyonovich Barkov

Vessels (200)

After sunset, Palestinian women did not open the vessels of oil, believing that in the darkness the vessels belonged to them.

Artyom answers.
Correct answer: Jinam

Gold theme (400)

Playing Gordey Bragin in this film adaptation of Mamin-Sibiryak, Sergei Bezrukov grew a beard and grew his hair.

Artyom answers.
Player response: "Privalov's millions"
Correct answer: "Gold"

Gold Theme (200)

One of the “seven wonders of Bashkiria” - the five-kilogram Irendyk Bear - represents exactly this.

Alexander answers.
Correct answer: Golden Nugget

Gold theme (1,000)

Gold theme (1,000)

This city is the center of gold mining in the Magadan region. The yellow heart on the flag resembles the nickname “golden heart of Kolyma”

Alexander answers.
Player response: Bodaibo
Correct answer: Susuman

Russian poets (400)

Envious people accused Mayakovsky of trying to earn more money through this poetic device.

Alexander answers.
Correct answer: Ladder

Russian poets (200)

In 1962, she was nominated for the Nobel Prize, but John Steinbeck received the prize.

Igor answers.
Correct answer: Anna Andreevna Akhmatova

Round result

• Artyom - 1 400
• Igor - 7 400
• Alexander - 8 200

Third round

Themes:

• Coins
• "The Beatles"
• Constellations
• Public catering
• Painting
• To arms!

Catering (900)

Real pizza is cooked only in ovens using this fuel; The best restaurants have similar ones.

Alexander answers.
Player response: Charcoal
Correct answer: Firewood

Catering (1,200)

Gods and Heroes (300)

Cat in a poke. Subject: Gods and heroes. In an ancient painting, this warrior helps Theseus defeat the monstrous Minotaur.

Alexander answers. The bet is 300.
Correct answer: Athena

Catering (600)

The hundred ruble received was only enough for coffee and the cheapest cocktail; in a restaurant he dreamed of a piece of bread left in his coat pocket.

Correct answer: Sharapov

Catering (300)

This first appeared on paper in China 10 centuries ago.

Alexander answers.
Player response: Recipe
Igor answers.
Correct answer: Menu

Painting (900)

Painting (900)

Cardinal Infan Ferdinand had already ordered his portrait from him, but on the orders of King Philip IV's brother he gave way. Which artist are we talking about?

Alexander answers.
Correct answer: Velazquez

Constellations (900)

In 1604, Johannes Kepler saw this event in the constellation Ophiuchus with an unarmed gaze.

Artyom answers.
Correct answer: Supernova explosion

Constellations (600)

The two brightest stars in the constellation Gemini bear these names.

Alexander answers.
Correct answer: Castor and Polks

To arms! (900)

In the cartoon “Island of Errors” this “weapon” helped Kolya Sorokin cope with the terrible “twos”.

Igor answers.
Player response: Fives
Alexander answers.
Correct answer: Right answers

"The Beatles" (900)

In 1996, it was he who bought the sheet music of the song “Hey Jude” at auction for 25 thousand pounds sterling.

Artyom answers.
Correct answer: Julian Lennon

"The Beatles" (1,200)

In Hamburg, musicians did not have money for guitar strings; I had to get strings from this instrument at a local club.

Artyom answers.
Correct answer: Piano

"The Beatles" (1,500)

Auction question. The song "Penny Lane" appeared, and the authorities of Liverpool suffered losses. This is exactly what they stole.

Artyom plays. Bet - 4,400 (all-in).
Correct answer: Street signs

"The Beatles" (300)

Besides McCartney, he was also left-handed.

Artyom answers.
Player response: George Harrison
Igor answers.
Correct answer: Ringo Starr

Painting (600)

Painting (600)

“A sad, pensive figure sits, hugging his knees, against the backdrop of the sunset and looks at the flowering meadow...”. What future painting did Mikhail Vrubel paint?

Alexander answers.
Correct answer: "Demon Seated"

Coins (900)

In Canada, you can pay with coins of this denomination only if the amount does not exceed 25 cents.

Alexander answers.
Correct answer: 1 cent

Coins (600)

Until 1857, such foreign coins were legal tender in the United States.

Artyom answers.
Correct answer: Gold and silver

Coins (1,200)

Mount Triglav at 50 euro cents is the highest peak and national symbol of this country.

Artyom answers.
Correct answer: Slovenia

Coins (1,500)

Auction question. In 1762, Russia's coins had to be urgently minted to replace this.

Artyom plays. The bet is 7,200.
Correct answer: Peter III to Catherine II

Coins (300)

While running the Royal Mint, Isaac Newton proposed making edges on coins with a notch. In order to avoid this.

Alexander answers.
Player response: Forgeries
Artyom answers.
Correct answer: Edge cutting

Constellations (300)

Of the 88 constellations, 31 belong to the northern hemisphere, 46 to the southern; the rest are just like that.

Alexander answers.
Correct answer: Equatorial

Catering (1,500)

In the 17th century, in the Parisian cafe “Prokop” they treated not only coffee, but also this newfangled delicacy.

Alexander answers.
Player response: Chocolate
Correct answer: Ice cream

Painting (1,500)

In the altar of this Kyiv cathedral you can see the father of the aircraft designer Ivan Sikorsky in the image of John Chrysostom by Viktor Vasnetsov.

Correct answer: In Vladimirsky

Painting (1,200)

Painting (1,200)

To the question of his friend Henri Matisse, “Why don’t you give up painting?” he, who suffered from arthritis, replied: “The pain goes away, but the beauty remains.”

Igor answers.
Correct answer: Renoir

To arms! (600)

In 1963, for the anniversary of the Milan glass company, all the boys in the neighborhood received this as a gift “with gratitude for their constant cooperation.”

Artyom answers.
Correct answer: Slingshots

Painting (300)

If this strict teacher was dissatisfied with the drawing, Carlos Brullo was left without lunch.

Alexander answers.
Correct answer: Father Paul Brullo

To arms! (1,500)

The developers of these weapons were sent to camps, and the informer, Andrei Kostikov, was declared the author.

Artyom answers.
Player response: T-134
Correct answer: "Katyusha"

To arms! (1,200)

The Zippermeyer installation of 1943, which created almost real tornadoes, was intended to combat them. But the weapon was not successful.

Alexander answers.
Correct answer: With airplanes

To arms! (300)

This rifle is known as "the gun that won the West."

Correct answer: Winchester

Round result

• Artyom - 18 400
• Igor - 6 800
• Alexander - 11 200

Final round

Subject: Depths

At Lake Baikal, Mir-1 and Mir-2, under the leadership of oceanologist Artur Chilingarov, made just such a dive for the first time. The cargo barge replaced the carrier ship Akademik Mstislav Keldysh.

Igor's answer: To the bottom of Baikal
The rate is 6,799.

Alexander's answer: Freshwater
The bet is 3,200.

Artyom's answer: Subglacial
The bet is 4,100.

Correct answer: Freshwater

Game summary

• Artyom - 14 300
• Igor - 1
• Alexander - 14 400

Alexander Bulavchuk wins the game and enters the Golden Dozen.

06.03.2014 20:10

The chimney sweep is one of the most beloved heroes of Western European fairy tales and legends. A black man, smeared with soot, a chance meeting with whom promises good luck. The presence of a chimney sweep at a wedding promises the newlyweds a happy family life. A representative of a complex, dangerous, but very necessary profession.

For the first time in Europe

The first mention of people servicing chimneys dates back to Italy in the 14th century. It is not surprising, because it was there that they first began to build stone chimneys not only in castles, but also in ordinary residential buildings. The first medieval teams of chimney sweeps were itinerant and consisted mainly of residents of the Apennines.

A massive transition from traditional wooden and clay chimneys (they were easier to replace than to clean) occurred in Western Europe in the 17th century. At the same time, cities were faced with the problem of fire safety: ignitions of accumulated soot in uncleaned chimneys caused serious fires.

First mentions in Russia

The first known document obliging homeowners and tenants to regularly maintain and clean chimneys was adopted by the authorities of Wroclaw in 1578. By the middle of the 17th century, almost all large cities acquired their own guilds of chimney sweeps, whose activities were regulated by local rules. In 1731, the position of chief royal chimney sweep was established in the Kingdom of Denmark. In fact, this is the prototype of the modern monitoring unit of the Ministry of Emergency Situations.

In pre-Petrine Russia, chimney cleaning services were not in demand. Unlike Western Europe, where stoves and fireplaces were heated with whatever God sent (often with coal), in our area there has never been a shortage of high-quality birch firewood, the combustion of which produces almost no soot. Large cities, including Moscow, had township development. In one or two-story houses, the chimney could be serviced independently, or cleaned using traditional methods, without climbing onto the roof. The first professional Russian chimney sweeps appeared in St. Petersburg along with the first palaces and multi-story dense urban buildings of the European type. Due to the lack of their own specialists, Finnish craftsmen were invited.

Chimney sweeping before

Chimney sweeps often worked in small teams. An experienced master supervised the work, and he also wielded heavy tools: weights of various weights and shapes, a sledgehammer, and large steel brushes. It is not easy to handle massive loads lowered on a rigid wire into a chimney while balancing on the ridge of the roof. The chimney sweep's top hat replaced his current construction helmet. When a brick fell from above, the headdress absorbed the impact. Children worked as assistants to the master. Only a child is able to penetrate a narrow chimney and thoroughly clean the inner surface of the masonry. The legislation of that time allowed the use of boys and even girls in such work, starting from the age of eight. Needless to say, what harm was caused to the child’s health.

With the humanization of society came the understanding that it is inadmissible to involve children in such work. Great Britain was the first to ban chimney cleaning in 1840. Throughout the 19th century, mechanical brushes for cleaning chimneys were created and improved. By the end of the century, devices had been developed that made the work of a chimney sweep much easier.

The 20th century was marked by a massive transition to centralized heating. Today, in developed countries, chimneys are rarely used for their intended purpose. In cities, stove heating was completely abandoned. In a country house, a fireplace is lit more to create a cozy atmosphere than for heating. In addition, resinous firewood and coal are almost never used, and modern steel and ceramic pipes are not prone to soot accumulation.

Chimney sweeping now

However, the chimney sweep profession has not disappeared. She has taken on a new quality. The need for chimney maintenance in the third millennium is not as high as in the previous one. These are mainly historical buildings. There is even a specialty as a chimney sweep-restorer. However, the safety and draft of chimneys of even “clean” gas boilers must be monitored periodically. Not to mention devices using solid and liquid fuels. Today the emphasis is on providing a comfortable microclimate. An important condition for this is the presence of effective natural or artificial ventilation. Chimney sweeps of the 21st century took care of keeping the ventilation ducts clean.

The arsenal of modern chimney sweeps includes not only various mechanical brushes and weights. Specialists use video cameras equipped with lighting systems. Measuring instruments record air flow rates, the presence of contaminants, and perform air analysis. In addition to mechanical ones, complex electrical devices, remote-controlled devices and even autonomous robots are used to carry out work in hard-to-reach channels. Chimney sweeps today use all modern advances in the field of safety and are not at all like the heroes of Andersen's fairy tales.

The chimney sweeps had to fight for their civil rights for a very long time. They were not allowed to walk on the sidewalks or approach the “clean” public...

In England, the practice of using it as a ruff or brush for chimney cleaning little children. More often these were tramps or orphans (orphanages arranged the future of their pets in this way) at the age of about 4 years. Being apprenticed to a chimney sweep, theoretically a child could rise to the rank of assistant, but this happened extremely rarely. Growing out of the pipes, they were more often forced to look for another job if they did not die earlier. After all, their work was associated with serious risk. They climbed through the fireplace into the chimney, and little chimney sweeps (officially they did not have such a title) cleaned the inner walls of the chimneys with scrapers and brushes. The child is small, the chimney is dark, it’s a little scary... And to make the work go smoothly, the big guys lit a fire in the fireplace. Children worked without special protective equipment. And, of course, they often fell down, suffocated from dust, and died right in the chimney.

Although the owner was obliged to feed, clothe, train, and provide housing for his apprentice, few cared about these unfortunate children. They were fed poorly - the thinner the teenager, the easier it was to climb into the pipe; they slept in basements and attics. Hygiene issues were practically not addressed. For years, the soot ate into the skin and into the lungs - resulting in tuberculosis, cancer of the scrotum and lungs.

True, according to London laws, children apprentice chimney sweeps did not have the right to work more than six days a week. Sunday was a day off and was reserved for Bible study in Sunday schools. This is such caring for children!

When Princess Charlotte (wife of King George III) learned about this use of children, she decided to give out a reward for inventing a way to clean chimneys without the use of child labor, especially in such a terrible form. In this regard, the Society for the Replacement of Child Chimney Sweeps was founded in 1803, whose main task was to implement the wishes of the princess (and, of course, receive a reward). In the end, a method of cleaning chimneys was invented, which is still in effect today: lower a weight with a brush (brush) into the chimney. Now this method seems so simple and accessible to us, but it turns out that we paid for it with the health and lives of many children. The invention of pipe cleaning brushes did not stop the use of children for these purposes: child labor was cheaper, and fines were very small. It was only on August 7, 1840 that the English Parliament decided to ban the use of children to clean chimneys. And after a significant increase in fines in 1864, the exploitation of children began to decline.

The chimney sweep has always been surrounded by an aura of mystery and romance.