Tibor Uhrín
Walking sticks are a tool as well as an accessory with their own symbolism and significance which has developed over time during the process of civilisation. When people were still hunter-gatherers, they used sticks as a natural aid for thousands of years. This omnipresent tool taken from nature was a common part of all environments, in both mountains and plains, all year long. Sticks were used for centuries as aids when travelling through the countryside on uneven ground, when investigating an unknown surface, and their protective function against wild animals, for example poisonous snakes, or against people, was also very important. The term of “walking stick” only appeared in the 16th century. During the 19th and 20th centuries, sticks were an accessory for men’s and women’s fashion or a necessary item of hiking equipment. Later on, their glory died away. Their meaning was reduced mainly to being a medical aid. However, even today they do not necessarily have to be only an orthopaedic aim or a crutch for people who have had an accident or are becoming weak after an illness or the deterioration of the lower limbs. Making walking sticks into a craft or design product could give them back their importance.