19.03.2008

Season 2008: The Fascination of the World Cultural Heritage Site Völklinger Hütte

The Fascination of the World Cultural Heritage Site Voelklinger Hütte

Today the World Cultural Heritage Site Voelklinger Hütte (in German spelled: Völklingen) stands on equal ground with such well known industry, cultural and natural monuments of the world as the Great Wall of China, Cologne cathedral, the Zollverein coal mine, the Grand Canyon or the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. In the tightest of space it has assembled a technological, industrial and architectonic milestone of the 20^th century. Cautiously planned restoration, in close cooperation with monument preservation demands, has secured its continued existence for future generations.  One of the latest projects: the new photovoltaic system on the roof of the blast hall. In 21^st century it ‘recycles’ the sun’s energy, just as 100 years ago it was the foundry’s own accumulated recovery gas which drove the giant blasting machines in the same complex.

Where once industry and architectural history was written, chimneys smoked and the deafening noise of everyday work prevailed, today high quality exhibitions, concerts or future workshops for the 21^st century take place completing the arch between art and industry culture far beyond the greater region. To this day almost 1.7 million visitors have entered the onetime industrial complex. Ten times more than the 17,145 workers, builders and craftsmen that worked here in its heyday.
Steel and iron have been manufactured in Voelklingen (in German spelled: Völklingen) since 1873. In 1890, Völklingen was the largest carrier girder rolling mill in the German Empire. Historically significant buildings tower over the 600,000m² site, which today belongs to the World Cultural Heritage Site Völklinger Hütte: the sheet steel Kohlenturm (coal tower) of 1897 is one of the oldest constructions of the old Völklinger Hütte. The first blast furnace of the foundry was simultaneously the largest blast furnace of the Saar area was cast in 1883 in the “Völklinger Eisenwerk Gebr. Röchling in Völklingen,” with a barrel capacity of 200m³.  Other furnaces followed between 1885 and 1907.  Today the ensemble of the group of furnaces measures a proud 32 metres high – two metres more than the Colossus of Rhodes, one of the eight wonders of antiquity.
An abundance of production methods were developed, optimised and patented here, frequently born of necessity as war between now friendly nations impeded the exchange of technology or made it simply impossible. Or one actually was compelled to adapt to the spatial confines.  An example of just such a thing today is the silhouette-forming Völklinger suspension track system and its inclined elevator (constructed between 1911 and 1918). This enabled, after seven years construction work, to transport raw materials up a height of 27 metres to fill the blast furnace, in spite of the bend in the River Saar. The inclined elevation is a cross between a San Francisco cable car and the Wuppertal Schwebeban.  
 The water tower which characterises the urban skyline also belongs to the chapter on building history (1917/1918) with pump house (1910). It is composed of a reinforced concrete frame construction in the style of modern, objective industrial architecture. Its 3000 cubic metres secured the supply of water for production even in dry summers, for the cooling of blast furnace tanks and water required for fire fighting. Together with the Möllerhalle and Ore Silo II of 1911 they are amongst the first and largest reinforced concrete constructions in Germany.
Pig iron flowed for the last time on 4^th July 1986 from furnace 6. The, for many people, “forbidden city” fell into decay, but not into eternal sleep. In 1994 the former pig iron production plant became a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site. Today it is one of Saarland’s major tourist attractions.
From the roof of the ore hall and the charging platform, the view opens out onto the town of Völklingen, the active steel plant of Saarstahl AG and the World Cultural Heritage Site Völklinger Hütte and its blast hall. An impressive panorama in any season, by day or night!
Up to now almost 1.7 million visitors have marvelled at the 6000 m² large blast hall. 1900 the foundation stone was laid and in 1901 the first gas blasting machine began its task, powered by recovery gas - a by-product. In 1938 the blast hall – still today featuring original floor tiles and architectural features – reached its ultimate guise: up to ten bellow machines produced wind for the blast furnaces of the iron foundry.
During 2008, on the roof of the blast hallthe largest photovoltaic system in a world cultural heritage site will be built. The former pig iron production of Völklinger Hütte proves once again that it is not just a “timeless dinosaur” of Saarland industry culture. Generation of electricity from sunlight will contribute significantly to the reduction of CO₂ emissions in the 21^st century, paving the way for a sunny future for generations to come: World Cultural Heritage Site Völklinger Hütte, one of the most exciting places in the world. 

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