Copper hammer (copper turning)

Copper hammer in Essen-Kupferdreh

The copper hammer in Essen-Kupferdreh was a hammer mill for processing copper in the Deilbachtal . Today it is part of the Deilbachtal museum landscape , which is looked after by the Ruhr Museum , and is also used by a commercial enterprise.

history

In 1550, Hans Frolynck from Essen , who also had usage rights to various ore deposits, founded a copper smelter ("Koperhut") on a strip of land at the western end of the valley, which he later expanded into a copper hammer. At first this was driven by the water power of the dammed Deilbach. The convenient location near the navigable Ruhr ( possibility of transport to the Rhine) with its own port at the mouth of the Deilbach and the construction of the Deiltaler Railway (towards Wuppertal) ensured favorable transport and sales opportunities until the 20th century.

In 1818/1819 Friedrich Harkort acquired the copper hammer. Just one year later he handed the business over to his brother-in-law Ludwig Moll. In 1838 the company was taken over by Friedrich Wilhelm Möller (1805–1878), a later member of the Prussian House of Representatives .

The heyday of the copper hammer was in the middle of the 19th century. The figures available for 1861 speak of 14 employees who processed 150 tons of copper worth 120,000 Prussian thalers . At that time, the hammer drive was converted from simple water wheels to water turbines and the system was expanded and modernized in other places. In 1865 a steam engine was put into operation.

The ensemble of residential and hammer buildings, coach and boiler house that still exists today dates from the second half of the 19th century. In 1940 the copper hammer was shut down, in 1950 the machines including the forge and rolling mill were scrapped and extensive structural changes were made. Today metal is processed again in the copper hammer; The workshop for metal design Michael Stratmann uses the system as part of an inheritance contract.

Together with the other objects of the cultural and museum landscape such as the Deilbachhammer (an iron hammer), the Deilmann farm and the Deiler mill , the ring kiln brickwork and facilities of the Victoria colliery , the Kupferhammer is made accessible by a hiking trail. It is also part of the Route of Industrial Culture .

literature

• Johann Rainer Busch, The historic Deilbachtal in Oberbyfang and Kupferdreh, an inventory . Essen 2013

Web links

Commons : Kupferhammer (Kupferdreh)  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Description of all locations on this themed route as part of the Route of Industrial Culture
• Ruhr Museum to the Deilbachtal including copper hammer
• Copper hammer, metal design workshop
• Monument entry for the copper hammer (PDF; 482 kB)

Individual evidence

1. ^ Berlin State Library  ( page no longer available , search in web archives ), accessed on February 5, 2012

Coordinates: 51 ° 22 '52.2 "  N , 7 ° 5' 28.3"  E