Hanomag site

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Former factory building on Hanomagstrasse with company name

The buildings on the former Hanomag site are an important example of German industrial architecture in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The site is located in the southern area of ​​the former city of Linden , now a district of Hanover . The Hanomag company went bankrupt in 1983. Most of the factories were demolished in the following years. Most of the buildings that have been preserved have been renovated today (2014) and are used by various companies and private individuals. The site still shows the importance of iron processing in Linden. It also bears witness to a questionable boom in a time marked by armament and war.

history

The Egestorff machine factory in the second half of the 19th century, before extensive modernization. In the foreground the Göttinger Chaussee (today Göttinger Straße), the Hamelner Chaussee (today Hanomagstraße) runs diagonally from the bottom right into the center of the picture. The workers' settlement of Little Romania can be seen at the bottom left .

Hanomag emerged from the foundry and machine factory of Georg Egestorff . He founded the company in 1835 after the death of his father Johann. Egestorff chose the site between Göttinger Chaussee (today Göttinger Straße) and Hamelner Chaussee, near the Egestorff brickworks. The historic road to Hameln was downgraded to a factory entrance after the Second World War and renamed Hanomagstrasse . In the early years, the company was not a real industrial company if you take into account the craftsmanship used and the wide range of programs.

In 1846 the production of locomotives began, the company specialized and grew. After 1860 restructuring and expansion took place, with which Egestorff succeeded in expanding into a real machine factory. Representative buildings were built at this time, including a gate to Göttinger Chaussee. After Egestorff's death, Bethel Strousberg took over the business in 1868. In just three years, he rationalized and expanded production considerably. However, in 1871 Strousberg had to sell the machine factory to a Hanover bank consortium because he had lost too much money in a failed railway business in Romania. The company, which was converted into a stock corporation, suffered in the following years from the economic depression, which it overcame around 1890.

Comparison of the development of 1921 with that of 2014

Between 1898 and 1918, the factory facilities were thoroughly modernized: a central power plant was built and production was electrified. In addition, almost all halls were replaced by new buildings. During the First World War, the company grew rapidly through the production of armaments.

In the 1920s, in addition to locomotives, Hanomag also produced farm tractors , trucks and the popular small car 2/10 HP, popularly known as Kommissbrot . In 1931 the locomotive division was sold to the Henschel company in Kassel.

In 1934 the Bochumer Verein took over the majority of shares in Hanomag. Secret negotiations took place in the same year with the aim of restructuring Hanomag into an armaments company. In the following years, Hanomag produced, among other things, half-track vehicles , railway and long-barrel cannons and large-caliber ammunition for the Wehrmacht .

In 1952, the Bochumer Verein was disengaged and Hanomag was taken over by the Rheinmetall Group. The truck division went to Daimler-Benz in 1970 , and in 1971 the production of agricultural machinery and farm tractors also ended in favor of concentrating on construction machinery. In 1974 it was sold to the Canadian group Massey Ferguson . He planned to gain a foothold in the European construction machinery business through Hanomag. Despite great efforts, Massey Ferguson did not succeed in making the Hanover subsidiary profitable. In 1980 Hanomag was therefore transferred to the IBH-Holding , a construction machinery company from Mainz . Due to the mismanagement of the IBH owner Horst-Dieter Esch , the Hanover company went bankrupt in 1983.

In 1984 Hanomag began to produce again, reorganized as a medium-sized company. At that time the workforce comprised only 400 employees. The factory premises were greatly reduced in size, numerous factory equipment was sold and many buildings were demolished in the following years. Since then, production has been on the northwestern part of the area. In 1989 the Japanese Komatsu Group took over the majority of Hanomag, which had meanwhile been converted back into a stock corporation.

After most of the Hanomag site lay fallow for a long time, the revitalization began in 2008. Preserved factory halls were prepared for commercial tenants and apartments were built. Private investors financed the work and got by without public funding. In autumn 2014, the Hanomag site received a commendation from the German Urban Development Prize .

Buildings built before 1945

Small Romania factory settlement (not preserved)

Bethel Henry Strousberg had the workers' settlement built on the eastern part of the site in 1869 . The name Little Romania comes from the vernacular: At that time Strousberg was heavily involved in railway construction in Romania, locomotives were built in the plant for this purpose, and the failure of the Romania project threw Strousberg into ruin two years later. The almost square area of ​​the settlement bordered directly to the east on Göttinger Strasse. The plans came from the architects Ferdinand Wallbrecht and Georg Hägemann . They designed an ensemble of 144 houses that offered space for 228 families. In addition, two to seven unmarried workers should be accommodated per house. With a maximum capacity of 2000 residents, Little Romania was the largest closed workers' settlement in Germany for several years. For the factory management, its construction was economically necessary because there was a great housing shortage in Linden. With around 20 m² more living space than in other working-class neighborhoods in Linden, the apartments were intended to help attract new workers. The great need for qualified workers could only be met by an influx from outside, many came from the Harz region. The houses in Little Romania were demolished in 1937, and the submarine hall was built on the site in 1943 .

  • Former location: site on the west side of Göttinger Straße, at the height between the streets Tonstraße and Strousbergstraße ( location ) opposite (east) merging into Göttinger Straße

Locomotive turning shop (not preserved)

Area of ​​the former locomotive turning shop used as a parking lot

The factory hall of the locomotive turning shop (mechanical workshop I) was one of the oldest surviving buildings on the Hanomag site at the time of bankruptcy. Although the hall was a listed building, it was later demolished. The building consisted of a four-part steel structure and different roofs, which were drained from the inside. Towards the street, beginning in the east with Hanomagstraße No. 11, the locomotive turning shop received an eleven-part gable front. The front side has also been upgraded with a small tower with a polygonal floor plan. The facade made of brown-red facing bricks followed the style of the Hanover architecture school .

Initially, 500 people worked on 381 machines in the lathe shop. In the period after the First World War, production picked up so strongly that a new plant was planned on the nearby Tönniesberg. At least the locomotive construction should be outsourced to the area south of the Fischerhof train station . As locomotive production slackened in the mid-1920s, the plans remained unrealized. The last locomotive left the factory in 1931.

The area of ​​the locomotive turning shop later served as a parking lot for the employees of the Komatsu company .

  • Former location: Hanomagstrasse No. 11 ( location )

Headquarters

Representative headquarters building with jewelry space

The management building on the former Hamelner Chaussee illustrates that the desire for self-expression increased around the turn of the century . In 1903 the architect G. Phillips designed a two-story house on a high basement. The expanded mansard roof was later changed. The floor plan of the headquarters building is largely symmetrical. A central staircase with a dome and a decorative lantern forms the center of the rectangular structure. All rooms that fulfill a representative function, including the director's room and the conference room, face the street. The offices of the employees, however, are at the back. The northern front, as the main viewing side, is structured by three slightly protruding risalits . An open, three-arched columned hall emphasizes the wider central projection, which is located in front of the staircase. The conference hall is located above the pillared hall, with a "tribute balcony" in front of it. Bricks of two different colors were used as the facade material. Their decorative arrangement points to the Hanover School of Architecture , and there are also elements of Art Nouveau . In front of the building, the planners laid out a decorative square in the shape of a triangle. The driveway established there showed the visitor a powerful, prosperous industrial company. The headquarters building is one of the most complex administrative buildings in Hanover. The main entrance to the factory premises was between the management building and the adjacent locomotive turning shop.

  • Location: Hanomagstrasse No. 9 ( location )

Director's villa

Director's villa after the renovation, 2015

The villa is in the immediate vicinity of the management building, on the east side of the Schmuckplatz. The plastered, two-story house was built before 1920 and is now a listed building. After a long period of vacancy and deterioration, renovation work began in 2013. Since 2015 there has been a pediatric practice on the ground floor and an oral surgery practice on the upper floor.

  • Location: Hanomagstrasse No. 7 ( location )

Official residence

Vacant official residence during the renovation, autumn 2015

The drafts of the civil servants' residence come from G. Phillips, the architect who also realized the management building. He planned the house as early as 1908, but due to the war it was not built until 1922. Instead, the workers' settlement "Little Romania" had to serve as a temporary solution, which was modernized again during the war years. For the civil servants' residence, Phillips originally planned a facade made of facing bricks , which was structured with plaster elements. Decorative elements from the headquarters building were to be taken up on the facade. When it was built in 1922, there was a significant change: the entire building was completely plastered. It received subtly Baroque volute gables and was structured in a more modern way.

The newly founded Faculty of Law at the University of Hanover began using the building in 1974. At the time, the university was faced with increasing student numbers while Hanomag no longer had any use for the official residence. Scientists housed there stayed until 1995, when they moved to newly refurbished premises on Königsworther Platz . The official residence was then temporarily used by the technical college . After the university of applied sciences moved out, the state of Lower Saxony spent years looking for a buyer for the listed building, which in the meantime fell into disrepair. In September 2012, a real estate developer from Hanover purchased the building in order to renovate it. In 2017, 56 condominiums were completed there.

  • Location: between Hanomagstraße and Bornumer Straße, representative entrance on Hanomagstraße No. 8 ( location )

Factory halls of the cannon workshop

Decorative hall front facing north on Deisterplatz

The factory halls of the cannon workshop were built in 1916. Because Germany was in the First World War at that time, construction activity increased at Hanomag, as in the entire armaments industry. The halls were built on the triangular point in the very north of the factory premises. In the mid-1890s, the new building program still called for a complete withdrawal from this part. The Linden architect Alfred Sasse designed the head building facing Deisterplatz. At that time, Deisterplatz was even smaller than it is today and rectangular in shape. The predominantly four-storey factory building is based on an iron structure with a flat roof. The hall floor plan is based on the lines of Hanomagstrasse and Göttinger Strasse, so it consists of two different, butt butted sections. The courtyard side was characterized by large glass surfaces and brick infills, while the front side facing the street was designed in a representative way, with natural stone plinths and facing bricks. Three colossal storeys structure the facade. The storeys are surrounded by masonry templates, behind which there are steel supports. The fourth floor sits above the final cornice. It is made in small parts and is reminiscent of an attic . A strip of colored tiles or majolica frames the north side facing Deisterplatz. There are also small, decorative relief plaques representing Hanomag products. At the corners of the building, two male figures by the sculptors Werner Hantelmann and Georg Herting rise . They personalize the work (Hantelmann) and the industry (Herting). Between the statues on the edge of the roof is the company's name, which has since been changed to "KOMATSU HANOMAG". The building shows that at the time it was built, a “pathetic objectivity” had established itself in industrial buildings.

In the short time until the end of the First World War, guns were still being built in the cannon workshop. The building was then rededicated as part of the general consversion : From then on, wheelsets and axle bearings for locomotives were processed on the ground floor. Screws were made on the first floor, and gear wheels and gear parts for farm tractors were built on the floor above.

At the end of the 2010s, around 5,000 m² of office space was prepared in the front building. The rooms should be rented out to, among other things, an advertising agency, a tax school and a personnel service provider. Investors created 23 loft apartments in the adjoining factory building along Hanomagstrasse .

  • Location: on Hanomagstraße, Deisterplatz and at the beginning of Göttinger Straße, with a representative facade facing Deisterplatz ( location )

  • Majolica squares

  • Product presentation: locomotive

  • Back during renovation work, 2011

Factory building for tractor construction

Factory hall used by Komatsu for building tractors

Between 1922 and 1923, a two-part hall was built on the north-western part of the Hanomag site, the design of which was made by Heinrich Neeren. The parts of the building are connected to one another and have different sizes. Initially, plows and agricultural tractors were produced in the hall , but automobile production was added as early as 1924. After the war, the body shop was housed here and trucks were also assembled in the hall. Today the building is used by Komatsu and is inaccessible to the general public on the company's premises.

  • Location: Extension of Hanomagstrasse, on the Komatsu factory premises ( location )

Wing on Göttinger Strasse

Six-story, monumental tower on Göttinger Straße

Building complex 8, located on Göttinger Straße, was built in 1939/40. In addition to the wide factory gate 1, a large canteen, the building of the plant fire brigade and the plant school as well as an office wing were built. The architect Emil Mewes designed the group of cubic structures. They differ in their height and number of floors, the individual parts seem to penetrate each other. The buildings are structured by specific window shapes: either the windows extend the width or emphasize the development of height, supplemented by a few vertical elements. The wings flanking the gate create a kind of courtyard in this area. The right wing structure turned out to be particularly massive. It is designed as a six-storey tower facing Göttinger Strasse, on the front of which angular templates extend to the upper edge. On the ground floor, the templates go into opposing brick pillars that enclose a vestibule. Four blocks protrude above pillars, on which there are symbolic representations of the elements. The monumental effect of this wing is supported by a larger-than-life worker statue of Georg Herting . It portrays “the worker” as a hero as the conqueror of the elements. This exaggerated representation of the working class is in stark contrast to the actual political conditions in the “ Third Reich ”. After the war, British troops intended to dismantle the worker statue and transport it to England. However, the dismantled sculpture, already packed in boxes, was hidden in the factory's building yard by Hanomag employees. Two years after the withdrawal of the British troops, the statue was returned to its original location.

The "old" Hanomag ended in 1983 with bankruptcy. Founded as a GmbH, the company withdrew to the north-western part of the site. The Lower Saxony State Office for Immission Control rented the vacant section on Göttinger Strasse from 1988. First, however, the buildings had to be extensively renovated, for which Hanomag Grundstücksbesitzgesellschaft commissioned the construction company Philipp Holzmann . From 1987 to 1988 Holzmann repaired the wing and converted it into a laboratory and administration complex.

Deutsche Telekom has been using the building wing since the 2000s, and in 2013 a new office building was added to the rear.

  • Location: along Göttinger Straße, with a factory gate at Göttinger Straße No. 14 ( location )

  • Factory gate, inside

  • Former porter's house at the entrance

  • Heroic worker statue by Georg Herting

  • New office building for Deutsche Telekom

Submarine hall

Submarine hall used by retailers

The so-called submarine hall was built in 1943, shortly before the end of the war. The building was intended to be used to manufacture anti-aircraft guns. The shell of the hall was erected in Wilhelmshaven , originally to manufacture submarines in it. However, after the submarine production was relocated to bunkers, the now dispensable steel structure came to Linden. There the architect Emil Mewes clad the scaffolding with brick walls. The building is structured by tall, narrow window openings. Since far too little daylight gets into the hall through these slots, there are “ skylight boxes ” on the roof . These openings are located above both the side and central aisles.

There was no longer any production of armaments in the submarine hall. The building was used in the post-war period to give products their finish. The hall also served as a warehouse for shipping. After Hanomag went bankrupt in the 1980s, concerts and celebrations were held in the hall. The Cyberhouse disco was created , for which circus tents were set up in the middle of the building. In the meantime (as of 2014) the retail trade uses the submarine hall . A bicycle shop, a supermarket and a furniture dealer have settled in it.

  • Location: between Göttinger Straße and the later Elfriede-Paul-Allee ( location )

Hanomag buildings built after 1945

Office wing used by the police

The Hanover Police Department employs around 300 people in former Hanomag buildings. This includes an office wing that adjoins the rear of the management building. The southern part of the wing protruding from the building line dates from the period after 1945. An adjacent high-rise building, also used by the police, had to be renovated between 2011 and 2013.

  • Location: Marianne-Baecker-Allee ( location )

To the south of the houses of the police is the former HANOMAG tractor test center , founded in 1964. The flat hall was later shortened by about half, presumably to make room for Elfriede-Paul-Allee. This building was replaced by a new Telekom building from August 2018.

  • Location: Marianne-Baecker-Allee / Elfriede-Paul-Allee ( location )

One of the last factory halls built on the Hanomag site has been a store of the OBI DIY chain since 1999 . The building stands on Elfriede-Paul-Allee and is aligned parallel to the submarine hall.

  • Location: Elfriede-Paul-Allee ( location )

  • Refurbished police tower

  • HANOMAG tractor test center

  • DIY store of the OBI group

Web links

Commons : Hanomag site  - collection of images, videos and audio files

References and comments

  1. ↑ a b c d e Chronology of Hanomag from Georg Egestorff to Komatsu . In: Horst-Dieter Görg (Hrsg.): Pulse beat of a work. 160 years of Hanomag. Mundschenk-Verlag, Soltau 1998. ISBN 3-00-002585-5 . Pp. 10-14.
  2. ↑ a b c d Last stage on Hanomag site , article on HAZ.de, published on March 13, 2013. Accessed on October 17, 2014.
  3. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Wolfgang Neß, Ilse Rüttgerodt-Riechmann, Gerd Weiß (ed.): Architectural monuments in Lower Saxony. 10.2. City of Hanover, part 2. Friedrich Vieweg and son, Braunschweig / Wiesbaden 1985. ISBN 3-528-06208-8 .
  4. ↑ Herbert Nolte: The Hanomag between 1939 and 1945 . In: Horst-Dieter Görg (Hrsg.): Pulse beat of a work. 160 years of Hanomag. Mundschenk-Verlag, Soltau 1998. ISBN 3-00-002585-5 . Pp. 32-35.
  5. ^ Gerhard Janovsky: Massey-Ferguson-Hanomag Inc. & Co. In: Horst-Dieter Görg (Hrsg.): Pulse of a work. 160 years of Hanomag. Mundschenk-Verlag, Soltau 1998. ISBN 3-00-002585-5 . Pp. 42-43.
  6. ↑ Martin Halusa: The Esch bankruptcy . In: Horst-Dieter Görg (Hrsg.): Pulse beat of a work. 160 years of Hanomag. Mundschenk-Verlag, Soltau 1998. ISBN 3-00-002585-5 . Pp. 44-47.
  7. ^ Heinz Baumgarten: New start as a medium-sized company . In: Horst-Dieter Görg (Hrsg.): Pulse beat of a work. 160 years of Hanomag. Mundschenk-Verlag, Soltau 1998. ISBN 3-00-002585-5 . Pp. 48-51.
  8. ↑ Hanomag site receives high-level award , article on HAZ.de, published on October 16, 2014. Accessed on October 27, 2014.
  9. ↑ a b Horst-Dieter Görg (Hrsg.): Pulse beat of a work. 160 years of Hanomag. Mundschenk-Verlag, Soltau 1998. ISBN 3-00-002585-5 . P. 13, above: aerial photo from 1920.
  10. ^ A b Günter H. Metzeltin: Romania lies in Linden - or Bethel Henry Strousberg's rise and fall . In: Horst-Dieter Görg (Hrsg.): Pulse beat of a work. 160 years of Hanomag. Mundschenk-Verlag, Soltau 1998. ISBN 3-00-002585-5 . Pp. 24-27.
  11. ^ A b c d e f g Walter Buschmann: Linden: History of an industrial city in the 19th century. Lax, Hildesheim 1981. ISBN 3-7848-3492-2 .
  12. ↑ Horst-Dieter Görg (Ed.): Pulse beat of a work. 160 years of Hanomag. Mundschenk-Verlag, Soltau 1998. ISBN 3-00-002585-5 : Page 15 (bottom) shows an aerial photo dated 1988. It can be seen that the locomotive turning shop has already been demolished.
  13. ↑ a b c d e Compare the documentation at Commons (see section Web Links )
  14. ↑ a b Walther Däbritz and Erich Metzeltin: Hundred years of Hanomag. History of the Hanoverian Maschinenbau-Aktien-Gesellschaft formerly Georg Egestorff in Hanover. 1835 to 1935. Verlag Stahleisen, Düsseldorf 1935.
  15. ↑ Horst-Dieter Görg (Ed.): Pulse beat of a work. 160 years of Hanomag. Mundschenk-Verlag, Soltau 1998. ISBN 3-00-002585-5 : Page 13 (above) shows an aerial photo dated 1920. The villa can be seen next to the management building.
  16. ↑ That the building was not built until 1922 is not clear from the information given by Wolfgang Neß. At Görg you can find an aerial photo of the Hanomag site on page 13 (above), taken around 1920. The halls of the cannon workshop can be seen on the aerial photo (built until 1916), but there is a vacant lot at the location of the official residence.
  17. ↑ a b "University of Hanover, History of Buildings" ( Memento of the original from April 29, 2014 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. , Description of the Hanomag building at www.uni-hannover.de. Retrieved October 17, 2014. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.uni-hannover.de
  18. ↑ a b Land earns splendidly on office properties , article on HAZ.de, published on September 2, 2012. Accessed on October 27, 2014.
  19. ↑ "Hanomag-Areal" ( memento of the original from April 29, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , List of facts about the Hanomag site at www.hannover.de. Retrieved October 17, 2014.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.hannover.de
  20. ↑ a b Herbert Nolte: With trailers from rubble . In: Horst-Dieter Görg (Hrsg.): Pulse beat of a work. 160 years of Hanomag. Mundschenk-Verlag, Soltau 1998. ISBN 3-00-002585-5 . Pp. 36-39.
  21. ↑ a b c Michael Mende: The historic Hanomag buildings . In: Horst-Dieter Görg (Hrsg.): Pulse beat of a work. 160 years of Hanomag. Mundschenk-Verlag, Soltau 1998. ISBN 3-00-002585-5 . Pp. 52-57.
  22. ↑ Repair of the Hanomag building in Hanover . Brief report by the former construction company Philipp Holzmann AG. Frankfurt am Main, 1990. Available z. B. via the Technical Information Library in Hanover . Signature there: HA 2179 (repair, Hanomag) . The six-page report does not have an ISBN.
  23. ^ Final spurt on the Hanomag site , article on HAZ.de, published on July 13, 2012. Accessed on October 21, 2014.
  24. ↑ Hannover.de - The official portal of the region and the state capital of Hannover: Hannover Baut - Hanomag-Areal ( Memento of the original from February 15, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed July 29, 2015  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.hannover.de
  25. ↑ Conversion of the Hanomag site in Hanover is progressing , article on HAZ.de, published on May 17, 2010. Accessed on October 21, 2014.
  26. ↑ Horst-Dieter Görg (Ed.): Pulse beat of a work. 160 years of Hanomag. Mundschenk-Verlag, Soltau 1998. ISBN 3-00-002585-5 : Figure 35 on page 34 (bottom) is a photo from 1943. The photo shows the construction of the submarine hall and was taken from the roof of the headquarters building. In the right edge of the picture the office wing can be seen, which connects to the south of the management building. The rear part of this wing does not protrude from the building line, unlike today. The front part of the wing, on the other hand, seems to have been preserved, as a comparison between Görg's photo and current recordings shows.
  27. ↑ Richard Binder: The wide way , brochure of Rheinstahl Hanomag, published for the DLG exhibition in 1964. A picture (drawing) in the back of the brochure shows the tractor test center. (The brochure has no page numbers).
  28. ↑ Hans-Hermann habenicht, Walter Bühnsack: The "little" daughter in the big company . In: Horst-Dieter Görg (Hrsg.): Pulse beat of a work. 160 years of Hanomag. Mundschenk-Verlag, Soltau 1998. ISBN 3-00-002585-5 . Pp. 40-41.
  29. ↑ Horst-Dieter Görg (Ed.): Pulse beat of a work. 160 years of Hanomag. Mundschenk-Verlag, Soltau 1998. ISBN 3-00-002585-5 : Page 15 (bottom) shows an aerial photo dated 1988. The picture shows the building shell that is used by the OBI hardware store today. Hanomag was converted back into an AG that year and was shortly before Komatsu joined the company (1989). It is not known when the foundation stone was laid for this hall.
  30. ↑ New ideas behind old facade , article on HAZ.de, published on January 22, 2014. Accessed on October 22, 2014.

Coordinates: 52 ° 21 ′ 33 "  N , 9 ° 42 ′ 47"  E