Alum production on Öland
The Alaunherstellung on the Swedish island of Oland began in 1723. The Alaunschiefervorkommen located south of Degerhamn at Kalmar . The Alaunherstellung played a large role in the economy of the island during the 18th and 19th centuries. Alum salt was important as a pickling agent in dyeing , tannery and medicine .
The oldest alum factory in Öland was relocated to Hagby in Småland in 1725 . The alum slate was still extracted in the Degerhamn quarry. In 1806 a new company was founded between the Landwehr and Werkstrasse, which quickly became the largest in Scandinavia . The slate was transported by horse and cart to the fire hill on the Landwehr. It was heated with oil shale and hard coal . The alum-containing ashes were collected and boiled in the boiler house. In crystallization containersHigh quality alum eventually formed, which was dried, packaged and shipped via Degerhamn. The company experienced its most successful years around 1820 with annual production of 2,000 to 2,700 barrels. In the middle of the 19th century, the natural product was replaced by extraction from chemical production, so that the plant was shut down in 1886.
Of the buildings belonging to the company have been preserved:
- the large windmill that fed the water to the plant via a pumping station
- the chimneys belonging to the boiler house , visible from afar , around which the ruins of the lye house, the boiler house and the tub house lie
- some warehouses
- the works street "Bruksgatan" with the workers' houses, which were completed around 1807 and offered space for 30 families per house.
literature
- Gerhard Austrup: Sweden . 2001, Iwanowski's Reisebuchverlag, Dormagen ISBN 3-923975-51-1 , page 269, ISBN 978-3-86197-049-1 .
Explanation
- ↑ Alum or vitriol slate is a clay slate interspersed with pyrite (iron sulfur (FeS2)) and coal. Because of its color, it is classified among the black slate.
Web links
- sodrabruket.com - History of the alum factory
Coordinates: 56 ° 20 ′ 32.5 ″ N , 16 ° 24 ′ 27 ″ E