Hammer mills in the Sauerland
Various types of hammer mills in the Sauerland were widespread in the pre-industrial era. In the early modern period, the Sauerland belonged to a coal and steel region in South Westphalia-Siegerland organized according to the division of labor. Pig iron was mainly smelted in Siegerland , while the Duchy of Westphalia manufactured intermediate and semi-finished goods, which were then processed into wire and finished goods in the County of Mark . Most of these works disappeared with industrialization. Only a few adapted to industrial development.
Origin and Distribution
On the basis of iron ore and other metals, ore was smelted and processed in the Sauerland early on. The iron ore has been processed in the hammer mills since the 15th century . At first these were directly connected to the ironworks. But independent hammers ("self-hammers") were still being developed in the 15th century. These stick or fresh hammers first appeared in the Siegerland and spread northwards from there. With them, the pig iron extracted in the smelters of the region was transformed into malleable bar iron . In addition to stick hammers as the first form of further processing, there were crude steel hammers, stretching hammers, refining hammers and sheet metal hammers. Some non-ferrous metals were also processed using hammer mills.
By 1800 there were 326 hammers in County Mark. Their number was significantly lower in the Duchy of Westphalia with 105 hammers. The interregional division of labor is evident from the fact that the plants in the Sauerland in Cologne mainly supplied semi-finished goods, while those in the Brandenburg region produced preliminary products for the finished goods industry. The distribution of the various types was correspondingly different in some cases. The Duchy of Westphalia was clearly dominant in the field of rod hammers. There were 30 of these companies there, in Brandenburg there were only eight. With 30 and 31 companies, the number of raw steel hammers was almost the same. In contrast, bar and refining hammers were hardly found in the duchy. On the other hand, the 27 tin hammers were a specialty, especially in the region around Olpe. There were also three copper hammers.
Within the Duchy of Westphalia around 1800 the focus was on the region around Olpe and Brilon . Their importance was so great that the necessary pig iron could not be supplied by the regional smelters, but was imported from Siegerland and Waldeck. Sheet metal processing by sheet metal and wide hammers around Olpe was also dependent on the supply of preliminary products from the Siegerland. In and Olpe a privileged blacksmith's guild arose, which was made up of merchants ( Reidemeisters ) and the blacksmiths. In addition to the focus on Olpe and Brilon, there were various scattered works and some smaller focus around Sundern and Schmallenberg .
Operational structure
Processing was carried out through various melting and forging processes. Such a hammer was always built near rivers. For the freshness process, bellows driven by water wheels were necessary in order to be able to achieve the high temperatures required for processing by supplying oxygen.
The hammer building was built from predominantly fireproof materials such as bricks, slate and clay to prevent fires. A building with two fresh stoves was approximately 16 m × 11 m × 3 m. On the opposite walls were the hearths, in the middle was the anvil. Here, the remelted and refined iron was forged into bar iron with a throwing hammer.
The hammer master employed by the hammer forge owner was responsible. His payment was dependent on the quality and quantity of the bars produced. The more scrap was produced, the lower the wages. One or two servants and sometimes an apprentice stood by the master's side as employees.
Further processing
What was unusual for the Sauerland in Cologne was that the finished goods trade was also based in Olpe, with the boiler and pan smiths. The production of the hammer mills at Brilon was partly taken over by nail smiths. These produced for publishers and the traveling traders of the upper Sauerland. Other products were also manufactured in the duchy. But the area could not compete with the pre-industrial level highly developed trade in the Brandenburg area. In Märkisch the wire rolls were of great importance. They mainly used the Osemunde iron .
Examples of hammer mills
Hoefohr hammer
This stood on a meadow that was leased by the Bigge office from the respective hammer owner for a lease of 4½ to 9 Reichstalers. The lease amount was dependent on whether the meadow was watered or not. In this freshness hammer, mostly göse from the Hoppecke Olsberg or Bontkirchen huts was processed. The bar iron produced here was processed by blacksmiths in the area, and a considerable proportion was also sold in Soest on the All Saints' Day market. The company was stopped in the course of the 19th century due to strong competition from the Ruhr area.
Oberrödinghauser Hammer
The Oberrödinghauser Hammer , first mentioned in 1751 as Old Hammer , is located in the Menden district of Oberrödinghausen and is a listed building. It was one of the oldest fresh hammer mills.
Ramsbeck hammer
There must have been a hammer in Ramsbeck as early as 1658 or earlier , because the pastorate in Velmede received income from a plot of land at the "Hammergrabe". In the list of hammers in the Duchy of Westphalia from 1711, a hammer for "Rambsbeck an der Becke occupy" is named under No. 13, which is operated by "Johannes und Frantzen Homburg" and forges 60 carts of pig iron annually. In 1728 at the latest, Johann Heinrich Kannegießer from Brilon had acquired the Ramsbeck hammer. This hammer is documented from 1788 to August 1800. The first document is an appraisal report prepared by the fire insurance company. The system was therefore worth 450 Reichstalers. This hammer was also supplied by the local huts. Most of the production was sold in Soest.
Siedlinghauser hammer
A hammer book belonging to this Frischhammer covers the period from 1773 to 1799. The ownership structure is unclear. This fresh hammer was also supplied by the surrounding huts. In the recorded years around 35 tons of pig iron were refined each year. Around 100 kilograms of iron rods were produced every day. This was mainly sold to blacksmiths in the area.
Individual evidence
- ↑ FTV Freizeit- und Touristikverband Märkisches Sauerland e. V .: 80 tips for day trips. 3rd edition 2009, p. 68.
- ^ Franz Josef coal: history of the municipality Velmede. Josefs-Druckerei, Bigge 1958, p. 167.
- ↑ STAMS Msc. VI 123 (o. Fol.) In Wilfried Reininghaus, Reinhard Köhne: Mining, smelting and hammer works in the Duchy of Westphalia in the Middle Ages and in the early modern period. Münster 2008, ISBN 978-3-402-15161-7 , page 530.
- ^ Wilfried Reininghaus, Reinhard Köhne: Mining, smelting and hammer works in the Duchy of Westphalia in the Middle Ages and in the early modern period. Münster 2008, ISBN 978-3-402-15161-7 , page 211
- ↑ Frank Dingerdissen, Stefanie Ernst, André König: Early sites of the iron and steel industry. In: Stefan Baumeier, Katharina Schlimmgen-Ehmke: Golden Times, Sauerland economic citizens from the 17th to 19th centuries. Klartext-Verlagsgesellschaft, Essen 2001, ISBN 3-89861-006-3 , pages 46–47
literature
- Katharina Schlimmgen-Ehme: Golden times, Sauerland economic citizens from the 17th to 19th centuries , on behalf of the Regional Association of Westphalia-Lippe, ISBN 3-89861-006-3 .
