Enneperstrasse

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

As Enneperstraße (Contemporary also Empen road ) is not only a historic street between Hagen and Gevelsberg in the county Mark called, but also means a pre-industrial commercial compression zone . It had been a center of the pre-industrial iron trade at least since the end of the 17th century. At the time of the Grand Duchy of Berg , the area was also politically consolidated into a Mairie . After the end of the Grand Duchy, this was converted into the Prussian Office Enneperstraße .

production

The road, named after the Ennepe River , was about two miles long. Between 1788 and 1792 the Prussian government turned it into a road , that is, into an army road. It became known for its extraordinarily dense collection of pre-industrial, iron-based production facilities. There were hammer mills of all kinds on the street . There were raw, steel, rod, refining, horizontal and wide hammers. Scythe hammers were particularly well represented. There were also grinding and polishing mills. At the beginning of the 19th century, steel to the value of one million thalers was produced in the county, most of which came from the Enneperstraße area. In addition, scythes and straw knives were manufactured in large quantities. Around 30,000 dozen worth 200,000 thalers were produced each year. In official weather (were as described by Johann Rembert Roden of the factories of the Ruhr southward description from the year 1754) 48 Sense hammers available, of which were only 31 at the Ennepe. More recent data give significantly lower values ​​for 1804. After that, 6750 dozen scythes worth 56,893 Reichstaler were produced at 76 fires in 24 hammer mills with 210 workers, while the raw materials cost 39,250 Reichstaler, leaving a net profit of 17,643 Reichstaler. So-called white scythes were made with only the cutting edge made of steel. After 1770, so-called blue scythes based on the Austrian model, made entirely of steel, were also produced. There are also numerous other hardware items. The products were sold beyond the Holy Roman Empire.

Justus von Gruner , in his My Pilgrimage to Peace and Hope, or description of the moral and civil condition of Westphalia at the end of the eighteenth century (1802/03), described Enneper Strasse “like a single commercial town, only sometimes with quieter romantic nature, as for relaxation the saturated dissolute gaze, cut through. Heerstraße is garnished on both sides with factory houses and workers' apartments of all kinds - a constant bustle of mills, hammers, spindles, etc .; people working everywhere, active hands everywhere and satisfied industry; long caravans of heavily loaded freight wagons, which carry out the products of gainful employment, and wagons full of coal and iron, which bring in the working material. "

Business promotion

The emigration of scythe smiths from the Bergisches Land around Cronenberg (today Wuppertal ) played an important role in the development of the unprecedented dense scythe production after the local guilds and the government had restricted the production and in particular the use of water power in the 17th century. In contrast, the development in the county of Mark was promoted by the Prussian sovereigns. A particularly liberal water use law applied there. It was also extremely beneficial that the area was exempt from recruiting for the Prussian army (cantonal freedom). This prevented the emigration of workers and skilled workers. The Brandenburg factory commissioners, initially only responsible for the Altena area , were also responsible for Enneperstraße under Friedrich August Alexander Eversmann . At the beginning of the 1790s, the manufacturers on Enneperstraße formed a Fabrique d. H. an interest group based on compulsory membership under state supervision. In particular, quality and brand protection contributed to the safety of the producers. The development of the industry from the late 17th and early 18th centuries was associated with a sharp increase in the number of inhabitants. Between 1771 and 1791 alone, the number rose by 33%.

Raw material supply

The works used the hydropower of the Ennepe River to generate power. The river in this area was so busy with hydropower systems that by the beginning of the 19th century new systems were hardly possible. In order to prevent water shortages around the summer, weirs or reservoirs were built. As a result, the producers often ran out of water downstream, which led to various processes.

The raw materials for the scythe hammers were obtained from the neighboring steel and other hammer mills. Possibly because the high demand and the deforestation of the forests made charcoal too expensive, hard coal was used early on. This was one reason why the Prussian state began to promote coal mining in the last third of the 18th century. Despite the proximity to the coal mines, the transport caused problems. It was no coincidence that Friedrich Harkort became a pioneer of the railway when he built a horse-drawn railway on iron rails from Schlebusch to Enneperstraße in 1826/28 ( Schlebusch-Harkorter coal railway ). A steam-powered locomotive was used there from 1877.

Changes in the 19th century

The transition of the county of Mark to the Napoleonic Grand Duchy of Berg brought about considerable changes. This includes the amalgamation of the places on Enneperstraße to form a Mairie, i. H. Mayorry. The freedom of recruitment was ended and with the freedom of trade, the forced mergers such as the fabrique of the scythe forge also disappeared. But with that, brand protection and quality assurance also disappeared. The continental blockade had a significant negative impact on the export-oriented industry. Even when Prussia got the county of Mark back in 1815, the freedom of trade did not change. Sauerland hiking traders from the area around Winterberg were now often selling the scythes . Overall, the sales opportunities also improved significantly due to the establishment of the German Customs Association .

The Mairie Enneperstraße was converted into the Prussian office Enneperstraße from the communities Haspe , Voerde , Vorhalle , Waldbauer and Westerbauer .

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Conversations Lexicon or Encyclopedic Concise Dictionary for educated classes. Vol, 3 Stuttgart, 1816 S, 415
  2. ↑ Matthias Kordes_ A constant, vital gear. Company history from 1700 to 1871 In: 300 years of Cronenberg. The history book of a family business. Arnsberg, 2011 p. 51
  3. ↑ Justus Gruner: My pilgrimage to rest and hope or description of the moral and civil condition of Westphalia at the end of the eighteenth century, vol. 2, Frankfurt a. M. 1803, pp. 350–352 Online version ( Memento of the original from October 16, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.lwl.org
  4. ↑ Stefan Gorißen: From trading house to company. Social history of the Harkort company in the age of proto-industry: 1720 - 1820 Göttingen, 2002 p. 345

literature