Ferropolis, "the city of iron", is an

open-air museum An open-air museum (or open air museum) is a museum that exhibits collections of buildings and artifacts out-of-doors. It is also frequently known as a museum of buildings or a folk museum. Definition Open air is “the unconfined atmosphere� ...

of huge mid-20th century industrial machines in

Gräfenhainichen is a town in Wittenberg district in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Geography The town was the seat of the offices of the administrative community (''Verwaltungsgemeinschaft'') of Tor zur Dübener Heide until it was disbanded in January 2011. It lies ...

, a city between

Wittenberg Wittenberg ( , ; Low Saxon: ''Wittenbarg''; meaning ''White Mountain''; officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg (''Luther City Wittenberg'')), is the fourth largest town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Wittenberg is situated on the River Elbe, north o ...

and Dessau,

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. These can measure up to 30 meters high and 120 meters long, and weigh up to 1,980 tons. The area is also used for several events such as opera performances or music festivals, including the Splash! Festival,

Melt! Festival Melt! Festival is one of the biggest open-air electronic music festivals in Germany. The festival takes place at the Ferropolis open-air museum, near Gräfenhainichen. It has been held since 1997. Awards and mentions * #2 in Resident Adviso ...

, and the "Ferropolis in Flammen" ("Ferropolis in flames") festival.

History

The museum is located on the site of a former strip mining operation. The minister of finance of the

Saxony-Anhalt Saxony-Anhalt (german: Sachsen-Anhalt ; nds, Sassen-Anholt) is a state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony, Thuringia and Lower Saxony. It covers an area of and has a population of 2.18 million inhabitants, making it th ...

formally created the project on 14 December 1995. In December 2005, the museum was integrated into the "

European Route of Industrial Heritage The European Route of Industrial Heritage (ERIH) is a tourist route of the most important industrial heritage sites in Europe. This is a tourism industry information initiative to present a network of industrial heritage sites across Europe. The ...

Gallery

Image:Bucket wheel excavator in Ferropolis.jpg, Bucket-wheel excavator Image:A huge machine on display at Ferropolis.jpg, A huge machine on display at Ferropolis Image:A machine on display at Ferropolis.jpg, A machine on display at Ferropolis

External links

Ferropolis
(German)
The Guardian about Ferropolis
Open-air museums in Germany Museums established in 1995 Industry museums in Germany Museums in Saxony-Anhalt Mining museums in Germany Mining in Saxony-Anhalt {{SaxonyAnhalt-struct-stub