Hammer forge New World
The hammer forge is located in the " Neue Welt " district of Münchenstein (in the Birseck area ), ( Basel-Landschaft ) in Switzerland .
location
As a "New World" , the area was designated geographically, the uppermost part of the beginning of the industrial settlement St. Alban-pond was created. The St. Alban pond is the first of the commercial canals still preserved in Basel and dates back to the 12th century. It was artificially created by the St. Alban Monastery in Basel and in 1624/25 extended to Münchenstein, through the Brüglinger Plain , upstream to the Birs waterfall.
From here the water from the Birs is drained into the pond. Important new facilities that arose at that time were the fulling mill near St. Jakob an der Birs and the hammer mill in the "New World" .
The big turning point came at the beginning of the 20th century: water use declined as a result of electrification. Today, also for this reason, there is a small power plant ( hydroelectric power plant ) at this point .
The hammer forge is the oldest building on the pond canal and was built in 1660 by Ludwig Krug. The hammer forge is located on the left bank of the canal and formed the core of an industrial plant, some of which still exists today.
history
The Basel iron merchant Ludwig Krug had a coppersmith built on the right bank of the pond and the hammer forge with a wire pull on the left bank . In this way the water energy of the pond could be fully utilized.
Around 1789, Balthasar Stähelin acquired the building with the wire train, which had it converted into a textile factory, including apartments. A silk twisting mill and a bleaching mill, a storage room, further apartments as well as stables and barns were built. The plant on the other bank underwent a major development when Felix Sarasin (1771–1839) set up a cotton mill there in 1821. The Villa Ehinger was originally built in connection with the former hammer smithy, as a residence for Ludwig August Sarasin (1804–31), son of Felix.
Christoph Merian , owner of the Brüglingen estate , acquired the hammer forge and the land on the left bank of the pond from the Balthasar des Benedict Stähelin's company in 1834. The Basel hammer, Johann Jakob Büchler, received the hammer at low interest. Merian wanted to use it as a forge for the manufacture and repair of agricultural implements. Merian died in 1858, and after the death of his widow Margaretha on May 3, 1886, the property passed to the Merian Foundation .
The hammer forge was leased to the Felix Sarasin & Heusler company in 1866. In 1905 the hammer forge was sold by the Merian'sche Foundation (later named Christoph Merian Foundation) and bought back in 1966.
architecture
The stately building is covered by a high and mighty gable roof with scarce crooked hips .
The windows are also architecturally interesting. The windows on the two floors and on the four facades are arranged irregularly but rhythmically. Some of them are two-part with Gothic valley profiles and some are rectangular. They date from the late 18th century. Numerous openings of the former factory are still visible on the pond side. The ground floor remained relatively closed.
A characteristic feature on the south-western facade is a polygonal stair tower with narrow, Gothic-profiled windows. In the stair tower is a stone spiral staircase with a hollow spindle. The individual pieces of the spindle with the step consist of a single piece of stone. The technically daring construction creates a cavity in the middle, which makes the stairs spiral and makes them easier to walk on. It is one of the few examples of this type from the 17th century.
present
In 1969/70 the hammer forge was restored in an exemplary manner by the Christoph Merian Foundation (CMS). The last restoration revalued the building in its historical significance. The entrance to the apartments is on the west side. In 1971 the hammer forge in the New World was placed under monument protection.
Web links
Individual evidence
Coordinates: 47 ° 31 '41.2 " N , 7 ° 37' 6.2" E ; CH1903: 613538 / 264,168