The role of fire in the Medieval and Early Modern landscape of Bad Waldsee within the broader context of the pre-Alpine forelands of south-western Germany

Abstract

Fire, an important element of human land use strategies, was part of many early industrial activities but also of burning incidents that significantly impacted settlement structures and development. The spatial proximity of the historically well-documented medieval town and sediment archive deposited in its central lake (Stadtsee) was taken to investigate the interplay of fire and socio-environmental developments during the preindustrial phase of 750−150 bp (ad 1200–1800). The burning episodes were detected using the sediment macroscopic charcoal record (> 150 μm) and were interpreted considering sedimentological, palynological, and historical evidence. Macro-charcoal analysis revealed two main phases of biomass burning: a late Medieval one (653−533 cal bp ), followed by a distinct fire-free interval, and a second Modern Times phase (313 cal bp until today). During the late Medieval times and after ad 1750 (200 cal bp) low-magnitude local fires coincided with high-intensity land use pressure. Major historical events like the Thirty Years’ War and the fire incident near the town (ad 1386, 174 cal bp) were also documented by the charcoal sedimentary record. The specific terrain morphology and the town microclimate impacted the chance of whether certain local burning patterns were detectable at all. This study demonstrates that during the Medieval period to the present day, fire events, mainly anthropogenic, were coupled with the main vegetation developments. Anthropogenic fire was an inseparable part of the Bad Waldsee landscape, as also recorded historically by the town archives.