The Völklingen

Ironworks An ironworks or iron works is an industrial plant where iron is smelted and where heavy iron and steel products are made. The term is both singular and plural, i.e. the singular of ''ironworks'' is ''ironworks''. Ironworks succeeded bloomeri ...

(german: Völklinger Hütte) is a former blast-furnace complex located in the German town of Völklingen, Saarland.

Pig iron Pig iron, also known as crude iron, is an intermediate product of the iron industry in the production of steel which is obtained by smelting iron ore in a blast furnace. Pig iron has a high carbon content, typically 3.8–4.7%, along with silic ...

production occurred at the site from 1882 through 1986. As one of the only intact ironworks surviving from the 19th and early-20th centuries in Europe and North America, it was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994 because of its exceptional preservation and its testimony to ferrous metallurgy and the Industrial Revolution. In addition, the site is an anchor point of the European Route of Industrial Heritage (ERIH).

History

In 1873, Julius Buch planned and built a steel works near Völklingen on the banks of the Saar river. However, the steel works ceased operation only 6 years later, and was acquired by Karl Röchling. in 1881, construction on a

blast furnace A blast furnace is a type of metallurgical furnace used for smelting to produce industrial metals, generally pig iron, but also others such as lead or copper. ''Blast'' refers to the combustion air being "forced" or supplied above atmospheric ...

for producing iron began, and two years later the first smelter began operation. Four new furnaces were added between 1885 and 1893, and a coking plant was added in 1897. In 1900, the first gas-blowing engines were introduced to the Völklingen Ironworks, making it the first large-scale ironworks to use furnace gas to operate the blast furnaces. By the 1910s, the Völklingen Ironworks was Germany's largest producer of steel beams. A large conveyor belt system was installed in the plant, and the technology used at the ironworks became a model for other factories across the world during the early 20th century. With a shortage of labor during and after World War I, up to 1,446 people from territories occupied by Germany (with most of them from Russia and Belgium) were forced to work involuntarily at the Völklingen Ironworks between 1915 and 1918. Over 143 of these laborers died during that time. Forced labor was again used in World War II, when a total of 12,393 people (including prisoners of war and civilians deported from the Soviet Union) worked at the plant in brutal and inhumane conditions. After World War II, only minor maintenance was conducted until the plant closed in 1986 during the economic steel crisis. The ironworks retains its 1930s-era appearance today, with intact blast furnaces and the original coking plant. The ''Stiftung Industriekultur'' (Industrial Culture Foundation) was founded at the beginning of 1996 with the aim of presenting the history of the Völklingen Ironworks and making the site culturally accessible. Meinrad Maria Grewenig was the first General Director and Managing Director of the World Cultural Heritage Site Völklingen Ironworks. Ralf Beil has been General Director of the World Cultural Heritage Site at the Völklingen Ironworks since 1 May 2020.

Today

Today, the Völklinger Hütte is a museum and it is also a unique location for international exhibitions, festivals and concerts.The Ferrodrom is an interactive science center focusing on the making of iron. Visitors can tour the production areas. Huge gas machines stand in the blower hall. They were driven by blast furnace gas and generated the wind for the blast furnaces. Parts of the blower hall are used for exhibitions today. The Völklingen Ironworks is also the venue for the ''UrbanArt Biennale''. The ''UrbanArt Biennale'' is a biennial exhibition (since 2011) dealing with urban art. The aim of the Biennale is to highlight current positions of this art movement, to document its development and to give an overview of the world scene of Urban Art. In 2012, the area was the venue of ''electro magnetic'' for the first time. As part of the ‘European Festival Awards’ in Groningen, The Netherlands. It was awarded ‘Best New Festival in Europe 2012’ and ran successfully until 2019.

Exhibitions (selection)

* Prometheus (1998 / 1999) * Leonardo da Vinci – Machine Man (2002 / 2003) * IncaGold – 3000 Years of Advanced Civilisations - Masterpieces from the Larco Museum Peru (2004 / 2005) * Treasures from

1001 Nights ''One Thousand and One Nights'' ( ar, أَلْفُ لَيْلَةٍ وَلَيْلَةٌ, italic=yes, ) is a collection of Middle Eastern folk tales compiled in Arabic during the Islamic Golden Age. It is often known in English as the ''Arabian ...

- Fascination of the Orient (2005 / 2005) * Power&Pomp. Europe's splendour in the 19th century (2006 / 2007 *

Duane Hanson Duane Hanson (January 17, 1925 – January 6, 1996) was an American artist and sculptor born in Minnesota. He spent most of his career in South Florida. He was known for his life-sized realistic sculptures of people. He cast the works based o ...

– Sculptures of the American Dream (20. Oktober 2007 bis 12. Mai 2008) *

The Celts The Celts (, see pronunciation for different usages) or Celtic peoples () are. "CELTS location: Greater Europe time period: Second millennium B.C.E. to present ancestry: Celtic a collection of Indo-European peoples. "The Celts, an ancient ...

- Druids. Princes. Warriors. The life of the Celts in the Iron Age (2010 / 2011) * UrbanArt – Graffiti 21. (2011 / 2011) * Mel Ramos – 50 Years of Pop Art (2011 / 2012) * Allen Jones – Off the Wall – 1957-2009 (2012 / 2013) * Mythos

Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988) in 1939 from the Alfa Romeo racing division as ''Auto Avio Costruzioni'', the company built its first car in ...

– Photographs by Günter Raupp (2012 / 2013) * UrbanArt Biennial 2013 (2013 / 2013) * Generation Pop – hear me! feel me! love me! (2013 , 2014) * Egypt – Gods. Humans. Pharaohs. (2014 / 2015) * UrbanArt Biennial 2015 (2015 / 2015) * Buddha – Collectors open their treasure chambers. 232 masterpieces of Buddhist art spanning 2,000 years. (2016 / 2017) * Inca – Gold. Power. God (2017 / 2018) * UrbanArt Biennial 2017 (2017 / 2017) * Legende Queen Elisabeth II. – Luciano Pelizzari Collection (2018 / 2019) * Banksy's Dismaland and Others – Photographs by Barry Cawston (2018 / 2018) * UrbanArt Biennial 2019. (2019 / 2019) * Pharaoh's Gold: 3,000 Years of Ancient Egypt (2019 /2020) * Mon Trésor. Europe's Treasure in Saarland. (2021 / 2021)

Gallery

Image:VoelklingerHuette1.JPG Image:VoelklingerHuette2.jpg Image:VoelklingerHuette3.jpg Image:VoelklingerHuette4.jpg Image:VoelklingerHuette5.jpg Image:VoelklingerHuette6.jpg Image:VoelklingerHuette7.jpg Image:VH pano10.jpg Image:VoelklingerHuetteEmblem.jpg Image:Völklingen steelworks inclined plane & blast furnaces, 20 April 2011.jpg Image:Tipping slag at Völklingen steelworks, 20 April 2011.jpg Image:Torpedo car at Völklingen steelworks, 20 April 2011.jpg

Notes

* This article is based on the entry Völklinger Hütte in the

German Wikipedia The German Wikipedia (german: Deutschsprachige Wikipedia) is the German-language edition of Wikipedia, a free and publicly editable online encyclopedia. Founded on March 16, 2001, it is the second-oldest Wikipedia (after the English Wikipedia), ...

References

External links

Völklingen Ironworks / UNESCO Official Website

Völklinger Hütte

Initiative Völklinger Hütte

Völklingen im Wandel
(German only)
Many Photos
(German only)
European Route of Industrial Heritage

''Tim Traveller'' visits the disused Ironwork
(YouTube) {{DEFAULTSORT:Volklingen Ironworks Buildings and structures in Saarbrücken (district) European Route of Industrial Heritage Anchor Points Steel companies of Germany Iron and steel mills Economy of Saarland Museums in Saarland Science museums in Germany World Heritage Sites in Germany Industry museums in Germany