Walk through the compressor shop of metallurgical plant Völklinger Hütte

• Walk through the compressor shop of metallurgical plant Völklinger Hütte

Last weekend I visited for the second time in a totally stunning location - at a metallurgical plant Völklinger Hütte. On this point, I will write a lot, because nothing like this either in size or beauty so far I have not seen, and I've seen a lot.

Suffice it to say that the plant is the world's first industrial site, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is protected Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict.

I've been in this place for the second time since the first time I arrived two hours before closing and could see very little. On my second visit, I had four hours, but I still managed to get around only 90% of the area available to the public. On good here you need to go for the day to a leisurely time to view all the available locations, and look there is something. The plant is able to surprise even those who are completely indifferent to the industrial beauty.

The compressor plant is located across the road from the main part of the plant. With the factory shop connect a powerful multi-level installation located at a height of over ten meters above the ground. Next to the pipeline is a bridge that going, I get into the realm of steampunk.

What I saw in the shop impresses at first sight and does not let go until the exit of the shop.

History of the compressor shop has its origins in 1900, when the first workshop site was built, which established three large compressor, the first of which has earned in 1901. Over time, the plant was expanded and by 1938 the ninth year reached their present size. It will accommodate ten compressor machines, which worked until 1986, the year before the plant shutdown. Now the shop survived six out of ten compressor machines, built from 1905 to 1914-th years.

Purpose compressors at the metallurgical plant - compressed air production for blast furnaces. A total of Völklinger Hütte plant has six blast furnaces which produce compressed air and ten huge compressors. Working compressors from the blast furnace gas generated in blast furnaces in smelting iron.

The compressor shop employed 12 people on each shift. Working conditions were not very comfortable: in the shop was a lot of noise and oil mist, which were a source of continuously operating the handwheel. In this case, the employees did not pause. They had to continuously monitor the operation of machines. Brought with them food eaten immediately near each machine for this was a small table with a chair.

The warehouse of various parts, neatly arranged in a corner of the shop.

A huge flywheel generator of one of the machines. Two of the six machines working as power plants generating electricity for the plant's needs.

The logo of the manufacturer electric generator - Siemens-Schuckert.

Industrial machinery of the early twentieth century stunningly photogenic: they can walk around for hours, looking for the most interesting viewfinder of hundreds of parts, pipes, valves, levers, dials barometers and other instruments.

Then a small selection of these stimpankovskih fotomotivov:

It is a pity that there was a number of people to demonstrate the scale of the construction.

At one point, I found a mirror that used for the transmission of the scale.

After 1999, the year on the premises of the former steel plant was set up the European Center for art and industrial culture, compressor shop was used as a platform for various cultural events Plan: art exhibitions, theater performances, concerts, shows fashion and other things. At the time of my visit to this place, then just held a rather interesting exhibition of cultural and historical character.

Beauty!

Finally, I managed to catch people in the frame for scale. In the photo one of the flywheel compressor machines.

This is my walk through the compressor workshop ends and I'm going to explore other locations vast territory of the metallurgical plant Völklinger Hütte.

A is a piping system, which here blast furnace gas was fed from the factory and transported back to the factory compressed air compressors. Compressor shop located just outside the pipeline.

And here is how the compressor shop from the street (on the left in the photo). towering pipes and blast furnace plant in the background, but more on that another time.