Journeyman years

In the European apprenticeship tradition, the journeyman years (Wanderjahre, also known in German as Wanderschaft, Gesellenwanderung, and colloquially sometimes referred to as Walz, lit.

In the Middle Ages and Renaissance, when the guild system still controlled the professions and trades in the visual arts, the Wanderjahre was also taken by painters, mason-architects and goldsmiths; and it was important for the transmission of artistic style around Europe.

He lived with the master as a member of the household, receiving most or all of his/her compensation in the form of food and lodging; in Germany, an apprentice normally had to pay a fee (known in German as Lehrgeld) for his or her apprenticeship.

The guilds, however, would not allow a young craftsman without experience to be promoted to master – apprentices could only choose to be employed, although many of them preferred to travel around instead.

When leaving the town the guild would hand over a certificate (Kundschaft) telling of the work achievements along with asserting the journeyman's proper conduct and the orderly ending of the subscription.

The tradition of the journeyman years (auf der Walz sein) persisted well into the 1920s in German-speaking countries, but was set back by multiple events like Nazis allegedly banning the tradition,[citation needed] the postwar German economic boom making it seem to be too much of a burden, and in East Germany the lack of opportunities for work in an economic system based on Volkseigener Betrieb.

The tradition was brought back to life mostly unchanged from the medieval concept since the journeyman brotherhoods (Schächte) never ceased to exist.

Additionally, journeymen are required to wear a specific uniform (Kluft) and to present themselves in a clean and friendly manner in public.

During the journeyman years the wanderer is not allowed to return within a perimeter of 50 km (30 miles) of his home town, except in specific emergency situations, such as the impending death of an immediate relative (parents and siblings).

The journeymen years include traditional events, like regional meetups where people share their stories and recommendations for good companies to visit.

Since journeymen often travel by hitchhiking, the traditional outfit helps them find people who are willing to exchange a ride or a meal for a story from their journey.

The journeyman carried his belongings in a leather backpack called the Felleisen, but some medieval towns, Charlottenburg probably having been the first and there, in particular, the temporary homes dedicated to house journeymen, banned those (for the fleas in them) so that most journeyman started to make use of a coarse cloth thus called Charlottenburger (abbreviated to "Charlie") to wrap up their belongings.

As such, a priest could set out on an extended journey to do research in the libraries of monasteries across Europe and gain wider knowledge and experience.

The traveler books or Wanderbücher are an important research source that show migration paths in the early period of industrialisation in Europe.