Iron was expensive and used sparingly until the mid-19th century. Metal handles, hinges and locks were evidence of a person’s wealth. Villages were built out of wood, and people who built houses, carts and sledges made them without even a single iron nail. The situation changed after the enfranchisement of the peasants. The mid-19th century saw the development of heavy industry and the appearance of large ironworks and rolling mills that supplied the market with significant amounts of inexpensive and widely available raw material. Towards the end of the 19th century, almost every village had its blacksmith. In some places in Małopolska there were even two smithies in one village. Decorating the products was a way to stand out among the competitors. Smithies were meeting places both for locals and for visitors. Iron forges were workshops where work gets done around a superheated open fire, so because of the fire hazard they were often built at crossroads, far from other buildings. The blacksmith, able to master this mysterious element under dangerous conditions,, was accorded considerable respect and appreciation because of his professional knowledge and numerous skills. Some of them performed services that weren’t directly associated with blacksmithing, such as extracting their neighbours’ aching teeth, setting bones and, being specialists in shoeing horses, they also treated sick animals.