The Völklinger Ironworks, or as we call it here “Völklinger Hütte”, is a very impressive muted Ironworks in the small town of Völklingen, not far from Saarbrücken. It was started in 1873 and closed its doors in 1986. Eight years later, Unesco declared it as a world culture heritage. It is by far the most impressive industrial scenery I have ever seen! I mean, it is huge! You could easily spend two days there just exploring without getting bored. So be ready to plan a lot of time for enjoying this visit. PS: If you are hungry, have a meal in the site’s cafe “Umwalzer”. You will get amazing food for little money.
Opening times: 10.00am-06.00pm
Entry fees: 15 €, free for teenagers under 18 and students under 27
For more information, please visit their official site.
Function
The Ironworks was the beating heart of the Saarland. It once was the biggest Iron carrier manufacturer in Germany. In 1928 they installed Europe’s biggest and most modern Sinter-technology, which means that they were able to recycle and clean the gout dust and fine ore. The Völklinger Ironworks counted around 17000 employees. Today, there is a more modern steel industry, which is still in function, next to it.
Exhibitions
The “Völklinger Hütte” constantly hosts great exhibitions. When we visited, they showed a “Buddha exhibition” and had a collection of over 200 buddha statues, which was really beautiful. They also created a “path of lightning” with 8 stations to meditate, scattered over the whole industry site. This combination was very interesting, as it meant to find peace and quite in a place that was once covered in noise and dirt. Besides the exhibitions, they also organise concerts and receptions. I would definitely like to see a concert in this amazing environment. So if you happen to be near this awesome place, don’t miss it, it really is worth the visit!
Pictures:
one of the many places to meditate (part of the current exhibition)
Exhibition of the awesome photographer Steve Mccurry
Tibetian flags in the middle of the industry
Salat in the cafe “Umwalzer”
All pictures taken with my Sony RX100-2
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