Hjula weaving mills
Coordinates: 59 ° 56 ' N , 10 ° 45' E
The Hjula weaving mills (Norwegian Hjula Væveri) were a textile company at the Hjulafossen waterfall in the Norwegian capital Oslo . The weaving mills were the first machine-operated weaving mills in Norway.
The weaving mills are located at Sagveien 23 on the west bank of the Akerselva River . The company was founded in 1855 by Halvor Schou . Until 1854, Schou had operated a small cotton weaving mill downstream. In 1854 he bought the property at Hjulafossen and was thus able to switch the energy supply from coal to hydropower. Initially the weaving mill consisted of twelve looms . It expanded quickly and soon owned 400 looms. Around 1890 the weaving mill had almost 800 employees and at that time it was the largest industrial company in Norway.
The American Civil War between 1861 and 1865 made it difficult to access raw cotton and so Schou expanded production. In addition to cotton weaving, he established the Hjula Klædefabrik , a clothing factory that produced wool sweaters. In 1916 this was outsourced and merged with De Forenede Uldvarefabriker . In 1946 Tekstilforedling as , or Tefas for short , took over the Hjula weaving mills. The company had branches in Fredrikstad and Lillestrøm . The company went bankrupt in 1955 and production ceased. A company called Hjula Væveri Hvalor Schou DA is now active in the real estate industry.
The buildings shape the area on Akerselva. The main building was built in 1854 by the architect Oluf Roll, Schou's brother-in-law. The middle section of the facade facing the river has five stepped gables. In this roof section there was a sloping glass roof to illuminate the 2,500 m² machine hall. It was a very modern solution. The exposure could have been achieved through windows, but you didn't want to distract the workers with the view. The machine room was destroyed by fire in 1971 and only the facade has been preserved. Another low building was down by the river. The textile dye works was located here. The river flowed through the building and changed color after production.
See also
literature
- Illustrert norsk næringsleksikon “Schou, Halvor”. Volume 1 Oslo, A / S Yrkesforlaget, Oslo, 1938.
Web links
- Om fabrikkarbeiderlivet på Hjula (see Syversen, Kristine )