Juliushütte

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Juliushütte

IUCN Category IV - Habitat / Species Management Area

Transformer house on the east bank of the large Pontelteich

Transformer house on the east bank of the large Pontelteich

location East of Bad Sachsa , in the district of Göttingen in Lower Saxony
surface 22 ha
Identifier NSG BR 087
WDPA ID 163957
Geographical location 51 ° 35 '  N , 10 ° 39'  E Coordinates: 51 ° 34 '48 "  N , 10 ° 39' 29"  E
Juliushütte (Lower Saxony)
Juliushütte
Setup date January 17, 1989
administration NLWKN

Juliushütte is a desert that was part of the Lower Saxony municipality of Walkenried in the southern Harz . Originally developed from a gypsum factory , the settlement with over 100 inhabitants experienced a changeful history due to its location on the later inner-German border , which ended in 1964 with the complete leveling of the site.

The plaster factory

The Juliushütte plasterworks around 1900

In 1877, the entrepreneur Julius Bergmann founded a gypsum factory on the banks of the large Pontelteich, directly between the town of Ellrich and the Pontelberg to the south of it. Although this factory was located in the immediate vicinity of the Ellrich train station and equipped with its own siding, it was in the Walkenried Abbey area. The Brunswick-Prussian border ran between the factory and the town of Ellrich. The plant was named Juliushütte after its founder and grew into one of the largest gypsum factories in Germany in the late 19th century. Due to the close proximity of raw materials, other companies, such as Kohlmann and Euling & Mack, settled near Bergmann's factory from 1892. A housing estate was also established. During the heyday of the Juliushütte gypsum factory, this accommodated up to 150 people. The town of Ellrich became an important center of the southern Harz gypsum industry. With the exhaustion of raw materials and the beginning of excess capacities in the pan-German gypsum production, the Juliushütte plant was closed in 1926 against compensation by decision of the Association of Central German Gypsum Works.

Pre-war and World War II

In 1936 the Erfurt entrepreneur Armin Trinks leased the disused gypsum factory Juliushütte and converted it into a wood flour factory . The main products were strewn flour, polishing and wood chips . The factory operated continuously until 1945.

In the early summer of 1944, the Ellrich-Juliushütte subcamp of the Mittelbau-Dora concentration camp was set up on a smaller part of the site of the Juliushütte and a larger part of the neighboring site of the disused gypsum factory Kohlmann . The camp was initially called Mittelbau II and was given the code name Erich . Parts of the factory premises and the area of ​​the settlement were occupied to accommodate the guards of the subcamp. The civilian population was resettled in the town of Ellrich. The Trinks wood flour factory remained in operation because of its vital production.

In April 1945, the subcamp was cleared and used by the US Army; later occupied by the Red Army . Shortly afterwards, with the division of Germany into sectors, the border between Juliushütte and the town of Ellrich was drawn.

post war period

With the end of the Second World War , production in the wood flour factory was interrupted. The border cut off Juliushütte from the town of Ellrich; Road, rail and road connections were interrupted, and the electricity supply was cut off. The factory's own wood-gas powered tractor provided the most necessary drive. The only way to get to the Juliushütte was via forest paths from the Walkenried community. A new power line was laid from there. Juliushütte received a transformer house and was supplied by the Zorge electrical works . At the same time, there was brisk traffic at the not yet fortified border, thousands of people crossed the demarcation line in the area of ​​the Juliushütte by the end of 1947. Then this was prevented by fortification measures. With the restart of the economy in the western sectors, especially fur processing, the Trinks wood flour factory was also put back into operation. Many of the former workers had returned to the Juliushütte settlement, so that around 1948 50 people were living there again and the factory was working day and night. Armin Trinks died in June 1952. The business was continued by the managing director Krömer.

Fire and demolition

On the morning of August 4, 1955, the Trinks wood flour factory burned down to the ground. The Walkenried voluntary fire brigade and the factory fire brigade of the Walkenried soap maker Genzel had to travel too long to be able to intervene in time. The fire brigade of the city of Ellrich had to wait for the approval to cross the border, ready for action, so that only the rescuing of the residential buildings was possible. A reconstruction of the factory in this now remote location remained. The wood flour factory moved to the halls of the former Bad Lauterberger Schickert-Werke, an armaments factory. All workers went with them, so that only a few people remained in the Juliushütte and the place slowly fell into disrepair. In 1961 there were still nine families living there. The area directly on the now fortified border became a political issue. Used by the propaganda of the East German leadership to depict the alleged decline in the western areas, the decision to abort was ultimately made in the Federal Ministry for All-German Issues in Bonn. The preparations lasted three years, during which the privately owned houses and the grounds of the Juliushütte were taken over by the Walkenried community with federal funds. The last remaining residents were relocated to new apartments in Walkenried. In the period from June 2 to June 5, 1964, the buildings were completely demolished and the site leveled and cleared.

today

The site of the former Juliushütte has been declared a nature reserve and has been reforested. Some hiking trails criss-cross the area. The remains of the Ellrich-Juliushütte satellite camp have been uncovered and made accessible to the public as a memorial . The name Juliushütte is used as a name for an overview point above the former district. On the now wooded bank of the large Pontelteich only the transformer house is still close to the location of the former Juliushütte.

literature

  • TK25 sheet 4429 - Ellrich - Edition 1907 (The Juliushütte was still a single building around 1900 and was located south of the village of Ellrich, with its own track system on the edge of the forest.)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Map of the industrial area Ellrich-Juliushütte around 1940 , Manfred Bornemann 1971, original from the Association for Local History Walkenried and Surroundings eV
  2. ↑ a b c Article Juliushütte no longer exists , Harz Kurier, June 6, 1964
  3. ↑ a b c d News sheet Our Harz No. 6/1971, section From the history of the Juliushütte near Ellrich , pages 112-114
  4. ↑ a b c d Article Juliushütte - once the gateway to freedom , Harz Kurier of August 8, 1964
  5. ^ Essay Juliushütte - a place in the stranglehold of the powers , councilwoman Ruth Monicke, Walkenried, December 15, 1996
  6. ↑ Article district Juliushütte is now cleared out , Harz Kurier, May 26, 1964