Blower Hall

The valve control of blower no. 10
Copyright: Weltkulturerbe Völklinger Hütte | Franz Mörscher

Blower Hall

Years of construction: 1900 to 1938
In operation: 85 years until the works were shut down

1900 saw the beginning of the construction of a new blower hall for four large gas blowers. These machines, which were state-of-the-art at the time, allowed the gas produced in large quantities by the blast furnaces to be effectively reused. 

On completion of the hall, the steady increase in iron production before World War I meant that further machines were soon required. Further sections were added to the hall in 1904, 1907 and 1913. These are most evident today in the different shapes of the skylights. The blower shed reached its current size after the last expansion in 1938, which was carried out in reinforced concrete. 

The Blowers
It was not until relatively late that inspiration came. In 1878, the German engineers Otto and Langen built the first gas engine. In 1894, the Deutz engineering works constructed the first engine run on blast furnace gas. At once, 'Röchling's Iron and Steelworks' adopted the new technology. In 1899, the first large-scale gas engine for the generation of electricity was ordered from M.A.N.. In 1901, the first gas blower went into operation in the newly built blower hall.

 

The Blower No 10, 1986

Untertitel | Subtitles | Sous-titres | via Button CC

Blower hall | today

After the closure of the ironworks, the blower hall was secured and locked. This meant that most of the interior was retained as if in a time capsule, which has not been the case with most other blower halls in the world. 

Since 1996, the blower hall has been used for events and exhibitions. For the "Mon Trésor. Europe's treasure in Saarland" (2020) exhibition, the existing installations were completely removed and long-forgotten treasures brought to light once more.

Gebläsemaschinen 9 & 10

The huge flywheels of the blowers No. 9 &10
Copyright: Weltkulturerbe Völklinger Hütte | Franz Mörscher

Die riesigen Schraubenschlüssel für die Gebläsemaschinen

Huge machines also need huge tools
Copyright: Weltkulturerbe Völklinger Hütte | Franz Mörscher

Ersatzteillager für die "kleine Inspektion"

Hand bearings for minor maintenance work on the blowers.
Copyright: Weltkulturerbe Völklinger Hütte | Franz Mörscher

Gebläsemaschine XX

The control side of a blower machine with external crankshaft
Copyright: Weltkulturerbe Völklinger Hütte | Franz Mörscher

Arbeiterspind

Worker locker with personal equipment and the necessary maintenance materials
Copyright: Weltkulturerbe Völklinger Hütte | Franz Mörscher

Große Bühne in der Gebläsehalle

The big stage of the blower hall in a detailed view
Copyright: © Weltkulturerbe Völklinger Hütte / Hans-Georg Merkel

Gebläsemaschine 10 | Detail

The huge bearing of the flywheel of blower machine 10 | detail view
Copyright: Weltkulturerbe Völklinger Hütte | Franz Mörscher