Mildenberg brickworks park

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Ring kiln in the Mildenberg brickworks park
Central area of ​​the brickworks park

The Ziegeleipark Mildenberg is an industrial monument near the village of Mildenberg , which has been part of the town of Zehdenick in the Oberhavel district in Brandenburg since 2003 . It is located on the premises of two neighboring brickworks that were in operation until 1991.

He can be reached u. a. via the Berlin – Copenhagen cycle path .

History of the site

The start of brick production in the area goes back to 1887, when rich deposits of clay were discovered during the construction of the Löwenberg – Templin railway line . Since the clay deposits in Glindow (near Werder (Havel) ) were almost exhausted at the time, one of the largest contiguous brick making areas in Europe was created in a short time at Mildenberg at the beginning of the 20th century. The development was favored by the fact that the clay stitches were located in the immediate vicinity of the Havel and so there were inexpensive transport options by barge via the waterway . Berlin , which was expanding rapidly through immigration, had an enormous need for building materials, which could now be met.

A high point in production with 625 million pieces of brick per year, fired in 57 Hoffmann ring kilns , was reached in 1910. Berlin and its neighboring cities Charlottenburg and Schöneberg recorded their greatest growth rates before the First World War . During the global economic crisis of 1929/1930 there were also heavy losses in brick production, several brick factories were given up.

After 1945 the brick industry developed well again in the former Soviet occupation zone . The reconstruction required again masses of building material. In the GDR , the area around Mildenberg was the largest, now state- owned , manufacturer of bricks and roof tiles, until the introduction of panel construction technology in the 1960s again led to a decline in importance. After the fall of the Wall in 1991, operations were stopped and Western investors saw no future here.

Museum and park

The industrial museum is an anchor point on the European Route of Industrial Culture (ERIH) and a station on the German Clay Road . In various interactive exhibitions, it offers information on the technology of brick production from hand-painted bricks to the automatic extrusion press , which was the most modern technology in the field in the 1950s. Another exhibition deals with the working world of brick workers, who were hired as migrant workers seasonally, and often lived and produced under poor conditions, as well as the development of the trade unions .

Operational field railways with different gauges occupy a large area of ​​the brickworks park . On the one hand, visitors get a first impression of the large area of ​​the industrial museum while traveling on a former brickworks railway, on the other hand, an original Tonlorenbahn invites them to take a trip through the Tonstichsee landscape.

In addition to the old brickworks and field railways, the park also consists of a "playground", a playground with a slide, a labyrinth and some other play equipment. Another attraction for visitors is - once a year - the independent molding of clay bricks, which are then fired. In addition, the Tonlorenbahn runs with a special locomotive, provided the weather is suitable on that day. Because in summer, when the bricks are being formed, this locomotive may not be operated due to fire protection when the temperature is too high, but it usually runs on the holiday.

Finow Maß barge for transporting bricks in the former brickyard

Part of the park is the former Ziegeleihafen , which is now used as a marina. It is accessible by water via the Obere Havel waterway .

See also

Web links

Commons : Ziegeleipark Mildenberg  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. Zehdenick – Fürstenberg | Berlin – Copenhagen. Retrieved May 14, 2017 .
  2. ERIH Entry: Mildenberg brickworks park . European Route of Industrial Heritage. 2014. Retrieved January 15, 2015.
  3. Old Port. Retrieved on August 27, 2014 (self-presentation).

Coordinates: 53 ° 1 ′ 52 ″  N , 13 ° 18 ′ 37 ″  E