Hoppecker Hut

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The Hoppecker Hütte was an early modern ironworks south of Brilon . The existence is documented since the late 16th century. Production ended in 1840.

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Johann Heinrich Weed, pastel around 1801

The place Hoppecke belonged to the Bredelar monastery . The mention of a tax on lead in a document from the Corvey monastery dates from 1107. As early as the Middle Ages, by the 13th century at the latest, there was probably a mining activity there for the extraction and processing of iron ore. Possibly with interruptions, this extends into the early modern era. A hammer mill owned by Wolff von Gudenberg was said to have been built long ago in 1585. The hut itself was first mentioned in writing in 1597. However, when it was founded is unknown. The operation is well documented by hut books for the period between 1750 and 1840. The so-called "Gose Hüttenbuch der Hoppecker Hütte" by Johann Heinrich Unkraut covers the period from 1749 to 1823. Another hut book for the Olsberger , Hoppecker and Bontkirchener hut ranges from 1733 to 1848.

Ownership

In the 18th and 19th centuries the plant was owned by the Ulrich, Kannegießer and Wekraut trade families. The Ulrich brothers each held 5/16 of the shares, the kannegießers and weeds each held 3/16. After the death of a trade, its shares but also the financial obligations were transferred to its respective heirs. So the shares of the Kannegießer passed to the Lysen family in 1763.

Operating facilities

The hut was conveniently located near the Brilon iron mountain on the Hoppecke river . The ironworks obtained its raw materials from Eisenberg - where the owner families were active in mining. Ores from the Grottenberg near Beringhausen and the Enkenberg near Rösenbeck were also smelted. The Hoppecke river provided the necessary water. A moat led the water from the river to the hut.

The blast furnace , built in the 18th century, was originally 7 m high. Of these, 5 m 60 are still preserved. The capacity was 18 cubic meters. The hut included a preserved timber-framed house for the place servant. This was renewed in 1795. Originally there were at least six buildings on the site. The actual hut building was right next to the house. The hut building had two medium-sized water wheels in the rear. There were several sheds for storing charcoal and ore. The ore was probably also refined in some of the sheds. There was a stamping mill to crush the ore . Technically, the systems were up to date with the technology of the time.

Workforce

The actual workforce was small. It consisted only of the foreman, the foreman and two callers. A master servant was only mentioned in 1802. The charcoal burners , hut clerks and carters required for operation were not accounted for in the hut book. To transport the ore from the mines at Martenberg and Grottenberg, carters from Rösenbeck , but also from Bontkirchen , Altenbüren , Adorf and Wiemeringhausen were used . A citizen from Brilon took over the transport of the products to Soest and Lippstadt at the end of the 17th and beginning of the 18th century. About a hundred years later, the hut mainly employed carters from Rösenbeck.

With regard to production costs, it is noticeable that personnel costs hardly changed in the seventy documented years. In 1750 the smelter received 2.5 Reichstaler per week, the one who gave it 1 ¾ Reichstaler, the foreman 1 Reichstaler and 12 Groschen. The place servant was able to increase his income through certain jobs. The income of the smelter had only risen to 3 Reichstaler by 1804. The merits at other huts in the region, such as the Wocklumer Hütte, were similar . In addition to earning money, there was also certain income in the form of natural produce. Only the days on which people actually worked in the hut were paid for.

production

The production between 1749 and 1820 was very constant according to the records of the hut register. Since the hut book has only been preserved for the proportion of weeds, the entire production must be developed. In 1753 the hut trip lasted - i.e. H. the duration of uninterrupted operation of the blast furnace - weeds 49.5 days. 973 tons of ore were smelted and 66 tons of pig iron were produced. On average, 55 tons were produced between 1751 and 1820 according to the Unrauts Hüttenbuch. The hut trips lasted an average of 40 to 50 days. But there were also years in which the hut was in operation much longer. During the period mentioned there were only a few years in which there was no hut trip. This failure cannot be explained by external influences, such as war events, but probably by necessary repairs.

If you take a closer look, the yield was very different. Reasons were the quality of the ore and charcoal but also the experience and care of the staff. The average output per week at the Hoppecker Hütte was 10,960 kilograms. This was significantly more than at the Wocklumer Hütte with an average output of 8,839 kilograms. On average, 1 kilogram of pig iron was produced from 13.5 kilograms of ore. The estimated total amount of 315 tons of pig iron per year was quite considerable.

The development of the cost of charcoal and ore cannot be adequately determined. In 1750, the cost of weeds was 43 Reichstaler and 9 Groschen for 1270 tons of ore, 349 Reichstale and 12 Groschen for 221 loads of charcoal and 22 Reichstaler and 19 Groschen for personnel costs with the above restrictions. This year, 86 tons of pig iron were produced. The production was either sold or processed further on the owners' hammer mills.

At times, casting work was also carried out on the hut. Specialized personnel such as foundries and molders were needed and employed for this. When repairs were required at the Bontkirchener Hütte, as in 1731, 1739 or 1741/42, cast goods were made in Hoppecke. But even after that, furnaces were still cast in the course of the 18th century. Since 1809, the production of furnaces and other cast goods increased. After 1823 the hut was only operated irregularly. Although the blast furnace was renewed again in 1840, it was no longer put into operation. There were several reasons for the end of operations. Due to financial problems, the Ulrich trade as a donor failed. Above all, however, the plant proved to be no longer competitive with the modern coke ovens, for example in the Ruhr area.

A conversion from charcoal and hard coal operation was not profitable in view of the high transport costs and the lack of a rail link until the 1870s. The end of the smelter began as early as 1822 when the shareholders signed a new trade agreement after the ores from the Brilon iron mountain were to be processed at the Olsberger smelter.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Winfried Reininghaus / Reinhard Köhne: Mining, smelting and hammer works in the Duchy of Westphalia in the Middle Ages and the early modern period. Münster, 2008 pp. 222f., 236f.
  2. ↑ Frank Dingerdissen, Stefanie Ernst, Andre König: Early sites of the iron and steel industry. The ironworks and hammer industry in the Brilon / Olsberg area between 1700 and 1850 as reflected in the ironworks and hammer books. In: Stefan Baumeir / Katharina Schlimmgen-Ehmke (eds.). Golden times. Sauerland economic citizens from the 17th to the 19th century. Essen, 2001 p. 38f.
  3. ↑ Frank Dingerdissen, Stefanie Ernst, Andre König: Early sites of the iron and steel industry. The ironworks and hammer industry in the Brilon / Olsberg area between 1700 and 1850 as reflected in the ironworks and hammer books. In: Stefan Baumeir / Katharina Schlimmgen-Ehmke (eds.). Golden times. Sauerland economic citizens from the 17th to the 19th century. Essen, 2001 p. 40
  4. ↑ Frank Dingerdissen, Stefanie Ernst, Andre König: Early sites of the iron and steel industry. The ironworks and hammer industry in the Brilon / Olsberg area between 1700 and 1850 as reflected in the ironworks and hammer books. In: Stefan Baumeir / Katharina Schlimmgen-Ehmke (eds.). Golden times. Sauerland economic citizens from the 17th to the 19th century. Essen, 2001 p. 40
  5. ↑ Stefan Gorißen: Westphalia's most backward province? Iron ore mining and smelting in the Sauerland region of Cologne in the 18th century. In: Stefan Baumeir / Katharina Schlimmgen-Ehmke (eds.). Golden times. Sauerland economic citizens from the 17th to the 19th century. Essen, 2001 p. 21
  6. ↑ Frank Dingerdissen, Stefanie Ernst, Andre König: Early sites of the iron and steel industry. The ironworks and hammer industry in the Brilon / Olsberg area between 1700 and 1850 as reflected in the ironworks and hammer books. In: Stefan Baumeir / Katharina Schlimmgen-Ehmke (eds.). Golden times. Sauerland economic citizens from the 17th to the 19th century. Essen, 2001 p. 40
  7. ^ Winfried Reininghaus / Reinhard Köhne: Mining, smelting and hammer works in the Duchy of Westphalia in the Middle Ages and the early modern period. Münster, 2008 p. 176f.
  8. ↑ Frank Dingerdissen, Stefanie Ernst, Andre König: Early sites of the iron and steel industry. The ironworks and hammer industry in the Brilon / Olsberg area between 1700 and 1850 as reflected in the ironworks and hammer books. In: Stefan Baumeir / Katharina Schlimmgen-Ehmke (eds.). Golden times. Sauerland economic citizens from the 17th to the 19th century. Essen, 2001 p. 42
  9. ↑ Frank Dingerdissen, Stefanie Ernst, Andre König: Early sites of the iron and steel industry. The ironworks and hammer industry in the Brilon / Olsberg area between 1700 and 1850 as reflected in the ironworks and hammer books. In: Stefan Baumeir / Katharina Schlimmgen-Ehmke (eds.). Golden times. Sauerland economic citizens from the 17th to the 19th century. Essen, 2001 pp. 40-42
  10. ↑ Frank Dingerdissen, Stefanie Ernst, Andre König: Early sites of the iron and steel industry. The ironworks and hammer industry in the Brilon / Olsberg area between 1700 and 1850 as reflected in the ironworks and hammer books. In: Stefan Baumeir / Katharina Schlimmgen-Ehmke (eds.). Golden times. Sauerland economic citizens from the 17th to the 19th century. Essen, 2001 p. 42
  11. ↑ Stefan Gorißen: Westphalia's most backward province? Iron ore mining and smelting in the Sauerland region of Cologne in the 18th century. In: Stefan Baumeir / Katharina Schlimmgen-Ehmke (eds.). Golden times. Sauerland economic citizens from the 17th to the 19th century. Essen, 2001 p. 20
  12. ↑ Frank Dingerdissen, Stefanie Ernst, Andre König: Early sites of the iron and steel industry. The ironworks and hammer industry in the Brilon / Olsberg area between 1700 and 1850 as reflected in the ironworks and hammer books. In: Stefan Baumeir / Katharina Schlimmgen-Ehmke (eds.). Golden times. Sauerland economic citizens from the 17th to the 19th century. Essen, 2001 p. 42
  13. ↑ Stefan Baumeier: "and had ovens cast" On the Sauerland furnace casting and trade in the 18th century. In: Stefan Baumeir / Katharina Schlimmgen-Ehmke (eds.). Golden times. Sauerland economic citizens from the 17th to the 19th century. Essen, 2001 p. 50
  14. ↑ Frank Dingerdissen, Stefanie Ernst, Andre König: Early sites of the iron and steel industry. The ironworks and hammer industry in the Brilon / Olsberg area between 1700 and 1850 as reflected in the ironworks and hammer books. In: Stefan Baumeir / Katharina Schlimmgen-Ehmke (eds.). Golden times. Sauerland economic citizens from the 17th to the 19th century. Essen, 2001 p. 39, p. 42f.
  15. ↑ Stefan Gorißen: Westphalia's most backward province? Iron ore mining and smelting in the Sauerland region of Cologne in the 18th century. In: Stefan Baumeir / Katharina Schlimmgen-Ehmke (eds.). Golden times. Sauerland economic citizens from the 17th to the 19th century. Essen, 2001 p. 22

literature

  • Frank Dingerdissen, Stefanie Ernst, Andre König: Early sites of the iron and steel industry. The ironworks and hammer industry in the Brilon / Olsberg area between 1700 and 1850 as reflected in the ironworks and hammer books. In: Stefan Baumeir / Katharina Schlimmgen-Ehmke (eds.). Golden times. Sauerland economic citizens from the 17th to the 19th century. Essen, 2001 pp. 36–47

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