Small iron industry

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The small iron industry is a sub-area of ​​the metal industry . This term describes the iron processing or metal goods production in decentrally organized small businesses and has above all historical significance.

Companies in the small iron industry produce hardware such as tools , cutlery, fittings , chains , screws , agricultural equipment such as hoes or scythes .

Austrian small iron industry

The center of the Austrian ironmongery industry was the Styrian Erzberg . The huge economic area surrounding it was called Eisenwurzen and comprised parts of today's federal states of Styria, Lower Austria and Upper Austria. Important places were Innerberg (today's Eisenerz ), Steyr and Waidhofen an der Ybbs . Today , a modest level of tourism is developing in this area, which is advertised as the Austrian Iron Road.

history

The Eisenwurzen as an economic area developed from the late Middle Ages with a first high point in the early modern period. In the 16th century, 20% of European iron production was handled in this region. The decline of the ironmongery industry came from the second half of the 19th century due to industrialization .

The essential elements

The basis of every small iron industry is of course a deposit of iron ore . In this case this was the important siderite deposit on the Erzberg. Another element is the transport of the raw material: if possible on rivers ( Enns , Ybbs ), otherwise overland, on carts. Finally, further processing in wheel mills and hammer mills , mostly in places where energy was available in the form of water power (rivers) and charcoal (forest). In the event of an increase in production, this necessitated a strong expansion of the economic area, which became necessary due to the increasing deforestation. This was the case in Eisenwurzen during the 14th century.

Another essential element was the organization of food production and procurement. In the inhospitable area of ​​the Styrian Erzberg, more than 20,000 miners had to be supplied from more than 100 km away. The farms of several so-called dedication areas were integrated into this supply system.

Cities and markets ( Steyr , Eisenerz , Waidhofen an der Ybbs , Scheibbs , Ybbsitz ...) were, in addition to their importance as a safe location for blacksmiths, above all the switching points for the metal and provisions trade. The wealth of that time can be seen in the architectural evidence that is still present today.

On the one hand, the organizational structure was decentralized, on the other hand, there was a complex, work-sharing interaction. The existing economic cycles were secured through innumerable privileges and rights.

The trade relations extended far beyond the Habsburg Empire to the Near East, Russia, Bohemia, Hungary, the Balkans and southern Germany.

At the top of the social hierarchy were the rich metal and food dealers on the one hand and the manors of the farms on the other. Only then did the hammer lords (“black counts”) follow and, at a lower level, the wage forge and finally the dependent farmers.

Reasons for the decline of the ironmongery industry in Eisenwurzen

New technological developments rolled over the structures that had grown over the centuries: for example, the construction of railway lines made rivers irrelevant as transport routes. The often narrow valleys of the previous economic areas turned out to be largely unsuitable for the development of the railroad. Hard coal replaced the charcoal and steam engines replaced the water wheel-powered iron hammers . The huge steelworks became the nucleus of the newly created industrial centers (e.g. Linz ).

German small iron industry

The puddle process developed in England was the basis of the flourishing German small iron industry in the middle of the 19th century . Here, a heavy, almost doughy raw iron bath is repeatedly exposed to oxygen-containing combustion gases by stirring with the help of long rods, which means that it is “ refreshed ”. The further processing of the so-called Luppe enabled the production of inexpensive mass-produced steel.