Floridsdorf refinery
The Floridsdorf refinery was an oil refinery in the 21st Viennese district of Floridsdorf . It is one of the oldest refineries in Europe.
location
The refinery was located north of Leopoldauer Strasse, in the area of Engelhorngasse, Pilzgasse, which is reminiscent of the founder, and Steinheilgasse, where Shell Austria AG's sports facilities are still located.
history
In 1864 the chemist F. Pilz built a factory for petroleum products Pilz & Co east of the Floridsdorf train station . The raw materials that were delivered from Galicia via the Northern Railway were processed into kerosene , lubricants, paraffin and candles.
The expansion of the railway network also made it possible to obtain oil from Romania . The plant was later expanded to include a petrol refinery for light petrol . The gasoline was sold as a stain cleaning agent under the name Floridsdorfer Fleckwasser .
Before the turn of the century, lubricating oils for railway axles were also produced. From 1913 a workforce of 370 has been handed down. During the First World War , mainly war fuel was produced.
At the end of the war, the supplier countries from the former Austro-Hungarian monarchy fell out and the plant ran into economic difficulties. It was not until 1923 that deliveries from Romania could be secured again through a collaboration with the Austrian Royal Dutch Shell . In 1929 the plant was completely taken over by Shell.
When there was a trade conflict with Romania in 1933, oil deliveries from there were stopped. Simultaneously with compensatory deliveries from Venezuela , which were processed via Trieste , the first deliveries from the newly developed fields near Zistersdorf could also be processed.
After the connection in 1938, the refinery was immediately subordinated to Rhenania-Ossag , Shell's German subsidiary. The capacity was expanded to 150,000 tons per year. From 1940 onwards, only oil from the Marchfeld could be processed.
From 1944 onwards, the plant was one of the most important targets in the bombing, as was the Moosbierbaum and Vösendorf refineries . It was also close to other operations that were important to the war effort, such as the Floridsdorf locomotive factory and Siemens . The losses were correspondingly large. Nevertheless, it was possible to keep production halfway. Only when no more deliveries were possible did production come to a standstill.
After the end of the war, the refinery came under SMV management and was able to produce until 1955.
Under the State Treaty , it fell back into the possession of Shell and was operated until 1970. After the shutdown, the plant was dismantled and the site was given to other industrial companies that still use the site today.
See also
Individual evidence
- ↑ Paul Holzapfel: Parish Herz Jesu Töllergasse: The Church and the Place in the Change of Time , Festschrift 50 Years Parish Church Herz Jesu , Vienna 1990, page 144.
- ↑ secretprojekte.at ( Memento of the original from May 23, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. JB: Photo of the still existing LS bunker from the Second World War, 2008.
- ↑ secretprojekte.at ( Memento of the original from September 27, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Josef B .: Floridsdorf - oil refinery , undated.
Coordinates: 48 ° 15 ′ 40 " N , 16 ° 24 ′ 28.4" E