Editing Neckar (section)

==== Timber floating from 1100 ====
Starting from 1100 the usage of the Neckar as a waterway with [[Burlak|line boats]] and [[raft]]s has been attested. The river was already blocked by weirs in the surroundings of several cities during the High Middle Ages. In Heilbronn a harbour was mentioned for the first time in 1146. The [[Neckar privilege]] granted by Holy Roman Emperor [[Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor|Louis IV]] in 1333 allowed the free imperial city the construction of a weir. After its construction, the continuous traffic on the river was blocked for several centuries, creating an annoyance for the neighbours. The permission of passage for [[raftsman]] therefore had to be determined contractually. In 1342, Württemberg, the [[Margraviate of Baden|Markgrafschaft Baden]], and the free imperial city signed an agreement to open the Neckar for rafts between Besigheim and Heilbronn. A treaty from 1476 between the free imperial city Esslingen, Württemberg and Austria fixed free rafting trade as well. The last raft went through Tübingen down the Neckar river on October 26, 1899.<ref>[http://www.tuepedia.de/index.php/Ammerdaal_Hexa_T%C3%BCbingen_e.V.#Jockele Das ''Jockele'' der Narrenzunft ''Ammerdaal Hexa Tübingen e.V.'']</ref>

The wood from the eastern [[Northern Black Forest]] was shipped through the Neckar and then the Rhine up to [[Holland]]. Because of the developing seafaring, shipyards had a large demand for wood. [[Firewood]] from the [[Schurwald]] was also shipped on the Neckar, after being combined in rafts up to 260 meters long at Plochingen.