Powder mill (Dresden)
The powder mill was a building complex in the Dresden district of Löbtau . It was used to manufacture gunpowder and was located about 200 meters above the cannon boring mill built in 1765 like this one on the left bank of the Weißeritzmühlgraben . It was built in 1576 as the second powder mill in Dresden, destroyed several times and rebuilt until it lost its function in 1875. Until it was almost completely destroyed in 1945, the buildings were temporarily used as a grain grinding mill , but also for residential and business purposes.
Construction and use as a powder mill in the 16th and 17th centuries
The previous building of this powder mill was located on the later grounds of the Zwinger , opposite the castle . In 1573 it was demolished to expand the fortifications. Because of the dangers associated with powder production , a plot of land located far outside of the city was chosen for the new building and found above the copper hammer at Weisseritzmühlgraben. In 1574, the electoral Oberzeugmeister Paul Buchner presented a corresponding plan, and in 1576 the construction of the new powder mill near the village of Löbtau was completed.
In the period that followed, there were repeated devastating explosions that destroyed parts of the complex. Such have been handed down for the years 1613, 1638, 1640 and 1689. In the first explosion in 1613 the Stampfhaus (mill) was destroyed and the granary was damaged. In 1638 and 1640, the explosions not only caused damage to buildings, but also fatalities. The urgently needed mill was rebuilt and expanded again. In 1689, there were explosions in both July and November, as a result of which almost all buildings except the mill itself were destroyed. After a standstill over a longer period of time, the reconstruction followed again.
The powder mill in 1709
A site plan from 1709 shows the structure of the facility. This consisted of two courtyards, of which the front one was accessible to visitors. This contained an elongated residential building for powder workers on one side and the cabbage house on the other, in the basement of which the charcoal required for powder production was burned. There was a restaurant on the upper floor of this building, because at that time the powder mill, like almost all buildings owned by the state, had the right to be a beer tavern.
In the rear courtyard, strictly closed and guarded, surrounded by high walls and isolated by a garden, were the actual production buildings. These included the mill, which used the water power of the mill ditch to pound the powder, the refining house, in which raw nitrate and sulfur were cleaned, and the grain house, in which the previously pressed powder was broken up and sieved. An ammunition vault and a tower completed the facility.
In addition to these buildings necessary for powder production, there was a house here, which, next to the apartment of the head of the facility, contained rooms for the prince and his entourage. Often the nobles stayed in the powder mill to watch shooting and fireworks trials on the practice area in front of the mill.
Use until powder production was discontinued in 1875
The reign of August the Strong brought strong orders for the powder mill. The stress was particularly intense before and during the Zeithain pleasure camp , which was held in 1730 ; the main rehearsals for the fireworks held there took place in front of the mill.
In the same year there was a minor explosion, only the mill building was destroyed. In 1775, however, almost the entire complex was destroyed, with numerous injuries and deaths. The reconstruction was not finished until 1777, when there were radical changes. The property was enlarged, the production buildings in the rear part were regrouped and given greater distances from one another. Nevertheless, there was one last explosion in 1796.
There were also changes in the front part of the complex after 1775. The house with the princely hall was demolished and the mansion was built for it. In 1798/99, extensive renovations were carried out on the workers' house. At that time, both buildings were given the appearance that remained until they were destroyed in 1945.
Use after 1875 until destruction in 1945
In the course of Saxony's participation in the wars for unification of the empire , the powder mill reached its capacity limits. In order to adapt the generation to the requirements, an almost completely new building would have been necessary. There were insurmountable obstacles in the way of the old system.
So it was decided to move the powder production to another location. The choice fell on the East Saxon village of Gnaschwitz near Bautzen . On July 1, 1875, the Royal Saxon Powder Factory started its work there, and at the same time the powder mill was handed over to the Ministry of Finance. Powder production ended at this location after almost exactly three centuries.
Around 1900 the mill building and the grain house were said to have burned down. In 1910 there was a grain grinding mill in the converted former saltpeter house, driven by an undershot water wheel in the Weißeritzmühlgraben. The former manor house, also known as the tower house, had become a residential and commercial building, and small businesses had settled on the site.
In 1937, when the Weißeritzmühlgraben was backfilled, the plant lost its power from water. Finally in 1945 all buildings were largely destroyed by bombing.
Current condition
The site was still used for commercial purposes until around 1990, and the remains of the former buildings and walls were gradually destroyed. In 2002 the flood of the Weißeritz flooded the area. The last original wall with inscription stone of the former powder mill building was removed in 2005 for no apparent reason. As part of urban development, funded by the European Regional Development Fund ( ERDF ), public green and open spaces have been created along the Weißeritz since 2007, which are connected by a footpath and cycle path extending into the city center. Part of this project is the creation of a city park on the approximately 1.67 hectare site of the former powder mill on Oederaner Strasse between Weißeritz and Nossener Bridge. In cooperation with the Dresden City Planning Office, the Environment Office, the Office for Urban Greenery and Waste Management, a Dresden landscape architecture office and the Zschonermühle eV cultural association, this work was carried out to create an interesting, green oasis. In October 2014, the "powder mill park" was handed over to the population.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Dr. Ing.Hanns Frommhold: Mirror loop, powder mill and cannon boring mill - 3 electoral industrial plants on the Weißeritz in Dresden, page 41, Dresden 1929
- ^ Announcements of the Landesverein Sächsischer Heimatschutz, Volume XXII, Issue 7/9, page 204f., Dresden 1933
- ↑ Communications of the Landesverein Sächsischer Heimatschutz, Volume XXII, Issue 7/9, page 206f., Dresden 1933
- ↑ Wolfgang Müller: Stories from old Dresden - With the Weißeritzmühlgraben through our city. 1st edition. Hille, Dresden 2011, ISBN 978-3-939025-23-8 .
Web links
Coordinates: 51 ° 2 ′ 26 " N , 13 ° 42 ′ 23" E