Albbruck ironworks
The Albbruck ironworks was a lordly Upper Austrian ironworks with a hammer forge and blast furnace in Albbruck at the confluence of the Alb into the Rhine , in today's Waldshut district in Baden-Württemberg . An illustration in the Illustrierte Zeitung Leipzig after a drawing by Carl Friedrich Harveng shows the buildings around 1860 on the Albbrücke. In 1870 the Albbruck paper mill was established .
history
The plant was founded in 1680 by the Biel councilor Abraham Chemilleret . The furnace was blown on on September 18, 1684, and the work was not completed until 1686. Abel Socin from Biel, Albrecht Faesch and the mayor of Basel Johann Jakob Merian were also involved in the company - also as admodiators . After the death of Abraham Chemilleret, Johann Jakob Merian soon became the sole tenant, later his son-in-law Ernst Ludwig Burckhardt joined the company. The company remained in these families until Heinrich Hurter from Schaffhausen was awarded it by the Upper Austrian government in 1729 because he had challenged the previous contracts. Bohner ore was initially obtained from the Bern area, from Urgitz , the plant did not belong to the Hammerschmiedebund and therefore initially received no ore from the Fricktal , but was therefore not subject to any restrictions. The necessary lime was obtained in the form of shell limestone from the neighboring Schwaderloch , wood from log drift and charcoal from the surrounding Hotzenwald . After 1700, mostly floor ore from the Klettgau was smelted. Between 3,000 and 5,000 quintals of wrought iron were produced annually up to 1705 , making it the largest ironworks on the Upper Rhine after the Wehr ironworks .
St. Blasien Monastery
In 1755 Abbot Meinrad Troger acquired shares in the ironworks. The chief customs officer Andreas Josias Kilian from Waldshut and the bailiff Johann Konrad Gleichauf von Gleichenstein were also involved. Hurter initially remained operations manager, but left after irregularities in 1757. Kilian also left in 1763, so Abbot Meinrad hired a father mine director. Between 1750 and 1770 the plant produced around 10,000 quintals of ingot and cast iron. Bohnerz now also came increasingly from Baden AG , from Kasteln , Königsfelden , Schenkenberg AG , Biberstein and the iron mine in Küttigen . For this, the plant delivered ammunition to Switzerland, mainly in the form of solid cannon balls and hollow balls. From 1760 onwards, stone ore was also acquired from Fürstenberg mining areas, and later from Kandern . Marquardt von Gleichenstein was in charge of the plant, but St. Blasien under Abbot Martin Gerbert sought sole rule and, since only it had sufficient wood reserves, acquired the Albbruck ironworks as owner on November 27, 1778 for 90,000 guilders Viennese currency . Now the ore became scarce again and they leased ore mines in Klettgau from the Schwarzenberg rule . In 1786 the wood supplies were exhausted. They wanted to buy up the ironworks Wehr and shut it down in order to use its wood supplies, but this was not approved, so they continued and could still produce very good and popular quality cast iron until 1806. Now the owner of the Wehrer Hütte, Phillip Merian, wanted to acquire the plant, but this was also rejected.
The church was originally under the parish of Hochsal , but after difficulties (including Sunday work) came to the parish of Dogern under Heinrich Hurter . As early as 1755 and then with purchase from 1778, the Capuchins from the Waldshut Capuchin Monastery provided pastoral care and worship for the workers as well as the annual blast furnace consecration on behalf of St. Blasien. However, when they carried out marriages without checking whether they had a home permit, official marriage permit, etc., they were withdrawn again.
Grand Duchy of Baden
On September 27, 1806, the Baden state took over the plant after the monastery of St. Blasien had been closed. In 1835 the peat moss Willaringen (Kühmoos) was acquired in order to use peat in addition to wood . In 1850, 27,000 quintals of pig iron were produced. In 1865 peat extraction was abandoned. In addition to small parts and ovens, large castings were also manufactured, and a commendation was received at the General German Industrial Exhibition in Munich in 1854.
With the beginning of industrialization, the plant experienced a heyday, but after 1860 iron melted from hard coal prevailed. The factory was modernized again in 1863, but it did not survive the iron crisis in Baden. The workers received support or were encouraged to emigrate to the United States, while others found work with the emerging railroad. Among other things, those who were not entitled to go home were not allowed to marry. In 1845 Albbruck became its own staff holding company , the situation did not improve as a result, invalids and survivors were deported. Only particularly hard-working people were able to shop in the community or received support for doing so. The situation of the workers was always bad compared to the profits. After the ironworks were shut down, Emil Nägele opened his own iron foundry in Albbruck in 1866 . A Rhine ferry existed early on to transport lime from Schwaderloch . A ferry was then also used by the workers for the paper mill. In 1931 the Rhine bridge Albbruck – Schwaderloch was built here .
Albbruck paper mill
After four years of vacancy of the Swiss National Council auctioned in 1870 Nicolaus Emperor from Grellingen the work for the company for pulp preparation, which from 1883 as a paper mill Albbruck here first pulp produced. The conditions and earnings of the workers improved considerably.
literature
- Rudolf Metz , geological studies of the Hotzenwald with excursions in its old mining areas. Schauenburg, Lahr 1980, ISBN 3-7946-0174-2 (pp. 502 to 519)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Rudolf Metz, Geological regional studies of the Hotzenwald with excursions in its old mining areas, p. 502
- ↑ Minaria-Helvetica PDF
- ↑ Rudolf Metz, Geological regional studies of the Hotzenwald with excursions in its old mining areas p. 518 u. 1039
- ↑ Dorfchronik Schwaderloch , PDF file
Coordinates: 47 ° 35 '23.6 " N , 8 ° 7' 49" E