Melting furnace Alfred-Hütte (Steinhaus am Semmering)
The Alfred-Hütte melting furnace is an industrial monument in the village of Steinhaus am Semmering in the municipality of Spital am Semmering in the Bruck-Mürzzuschlag district in the state of Styria . It is a listed building.
history
In 1838 Prince Alfred von Schönburg commissioned the construction of the Alfred hut. The ores from Fröschnitz-Dürrgraben and Rettenberg were merged here. Before this blast furnace was built, the heavy ore rock had to be laboriously transported over the Semmering to the smelting furnace in Aue ( Schottwien municipality ) for smelting . In 1844 Josef Ritter von Wachtler took over the business and modernized the blast furnace. From then on the staff of this hut numbered 18 to 20 men when it was fully operational. The annual amount of pig iron produced was 3000 t. In the late 1870s, two cupolas were purchased that could be used to produce cast goods. Despite the enlargement and modernization of the work processes, the business had to be closed in 1885 due to the overwhelming competition and the lack of charcoal and ores of sufficient quality.
Architecture and current state
The Alfred Hut was built in the “industrial Gothic” style with pointed arched windows. The stove and the surrounding wall with the pointed arched windows are still preserved today. The coat of arms of the industrialist Josef Ritter von Wachtler is located above the entrance. In order to protect the industrial monument from further deterioration, the furnace was restored and preserved from 2002 to 2003 by the Steinhaus am Semmering embellishment association, with the support of the municipality of Spital and the State of Styria, and thus preserved from further deterioration.
literature
- Dehio Steiermark (excluding Graz) 1982 , Steinhaus, blast furnace ruin, p. 543.
Web links
Remarks
Coordinates: 47 ° 37 ′ 0.9 ″ N , 15 ° 47 ′ 49.8 ″ E