May 2002
Arrow Route
Arrow Route
When Micha Wolf’s English
yew-wood archery bow—the
one he inherited from his grandfather—broke 15 years ago, the trained woodworker set about making a new one. After a period of trial and error, Wolf mastered the craft of creating bows, in a variety of styles, and arrows. Wishing to turn his new hobby into a trade, the artisan and sportsman began to sell his products. Today, Wolf, whose farm is nestled in a hillside in Liebenfels, Austria (near Klagenfurt), an idyllic rural village, offers weekend courses on bow and arrow making, in both German and English. Starting with a lesson on the history of the weapon, the course enables participants the chance to make one of a number of bow styles—including an American Flatbow, Viking or Stone Age models and an English bow such as the one Wolf’s
Opa gave him. Upon completing the custom archery set, students are taken out into the wilderness to target shoot. Even those who have only a mild interest in bows and arrows will enjoy a weekend with Wolf and his family—as well as with a charming menagerie of house pets and horses. Accommodations in a rustically appointed farmhouse, good company, home-cooked meals, fresh air and relaxing hours spent whittling wood may just be the thing to shed layers of stress: a view of the guestbook on Wolf’s Web site—>a href="http://www.bogenbau.at"targetextern>www.bogenbau.at—would seem to confirm this. For information on dates and prices, visit the site—where you will find numerous inviting photographs—or call ++43 42 15 31 46.
