Schwarzenthal (Haidmühle)
Schwarzenthal is a district of the Haidmühle community in the Freyung-Grafenau district in the Bavarian Forest . The place belonged to the community of Philippsreut until 1945 , then until April 30, 1978 to the community of Bischofsreut and is located on the Glasstrasse near the border with the Bohemian Forest .
history
The history of the place is very closely linked to the manufacture of glass and mirror glass . The large forest areas of the duchy of Passau, which was dissolved by secularization in 1803 and which fell to Bavaria in 1805, became state forests, which, however, could hardly be used economically because of their remoteness. In 1820 Baron Hermann Ludwig von Stachelhausen founded a mirror glass factory in the Schlichtenberg forest district near Philippsreut. The baron chose the name "Schwarzenthal" for the settlement in reference to the Schwarzbach , which flows past there to the east and then north , and which borders the hamlet in the south and east. The mirror glass produced in Schwarzenthal was processed into mirrors in the mirror loops in Traidendorf and Rohrbach, north of Regensburg, also owned by Stachelhausen, and sold through the Nuremberg trade.
The reason for the baron's investment was a shortage of raw mirror glass in Bavaria, after imports from Bohemia almost completely came to a standstill due to enormously increased import duties. In addition, the manufacture of mirror and window glass was a very profitable business at the time, as America was unable to meet its own needs, which had grown due to the brisk settlement activity. Stachelhausen got his glassmakers mainly from Bohemia, because until then there were hardly any specialists in the field of mirror glass production in Bavaria. Schwarzenthal, together with Ludwigsthal bei Zwiesel (founded in 1826), was one of the first important mirror factories in Bavaria. In addition, the operation was of enormous economic importance for the region. In 1822, 21 men worked on the hut alone, including 6 master glassmakers and 6 glassmaker journeymen (the women in the packaging are not included here). There were also about 30 workers for the wood supply, so that about 50 families had their livelihood. By 1850, the workforce at the two smelters alone had almost doubled.
The quality of the Schwarzenthal products must have been very good, as they could compete with those of the best mirror glass manufacturers in Bohemia, who were leaders in the manufacture of mirror glass at the time (including very successful participation in the industrial exhibition in Munich). In 1835, Stachelhausen's son Julius took over the business and continued to run it with varying degrees of luck. Around 1835 he had a second hut built, which, like the first, was named after a Bavarian queen, "Theresienhütte". On September 21, 1851, the "Carolinenhütte", the older of the two huts, burned down. But it could be rebuilt in a short time.
Since Stachelhausen did not own any large forests of its own in Schwarzenthal, and the state did not want to sell him any forest, the company was dependent on the state forest management for the supply of wood. In the meantime, by making streams driftable, the latter had won over buyers for the wood from whom they could charge higher prices. The enormous price increases and the supply contracts for wood issued for ever shorter periods of time by the State Forestry Administration ultimately led to Stachelhausen having to sell the company to the state in 1857. In 1859 the glassworks were closed and most of the buildings demolished. The remaining houses were then used by the forest administration itself. Today the “manor house” and a glassmaker's house from the original complex are still preserved. A sawmill was built in 1865.
Individual evidence
- ^ Federal Statistical Office (ed.): Historical municipality directory for the Federal Republic of Germany. Name, border and key number changes in municipalities, counties and administrative districts from May 27, 1970 to December 31, 1982 . W. Kohlhammer GmbH, Stuttgart and Mainz 1983, ISBN 3-17-003263-1 , p. 628 .
literature
- The Wolfstein District, Wolfstein District, 1968.
- Home on the border , Philippsreut community, 1997.
- The Transparent Forest , Prestel, 1988.
- Representation of three epochs of glass production in the district of Freyung-Grafenau , Otto Moritz, 1978
Coordinates: 48 ° 52 ' N , 13 ° 43' E