German city’s steelworks survived two world wars
Due to some unexplained quirks of history, the Völklingen Ironworks has remained intact since its creation in 1873. Photo by John Masters / Meridian Writers’ Grouip
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Updated: November 06, 2009 12:58 PM
VÖLKLINGEN, Germany — One of the enduring mysteries of the Second World War is why the huge steelworks in this city were never bombed, despite the fact that they contributed to the German war effort.
For that matter, why wasn’t Völklingen bombed in the First World War, either?
“There are a lot of theories,” says Franz Gonder, a former worker at the foundry. “If you ask 10 experts you will get 20 answers.”
Two of the most popular beliefs are that French Resistance leader and future president of France, Charles de Gaulle, specifically asked the Allies not to target Völklingen.
De Gaulle hoped that the city, close to the border with France, would become a French possession after the war, and its undamaged steel plant would help the French economy rebuild faster.
The other is that the foundry’s owner, Hermann Röchling, was friends with numerous American businessmen, who intervened on his behalf. An additional twist says that Röchling was a Freemason, as was U.S. president Franklin D. Roosevelt.
However it came about, the fact that the Völklingen Ironworks has remained intact since its creation in 1873 means that it is the only place in the world where you can see the entire history of steel-making, from the Industrial Revolution on. As a result, in 1994 it was named the first UNESCO World Heritage industrial site.
Its six blast-furnace towers with their rounded tops, set amid a welter of pipes and ironwork, give it the look of a busy, metallic Byzantium, and from 1912 to 1986 it truly was, operating around the clock and employing up to 17,000.
But by the 1970s cheaper sources of steel had been developed and the equipment at Völklingen was aging. Too costly to upgrade, the 600,000 square metres that comprise the UNESCO site were closed in 1986, although another part of the plant, using newer equipment, is still operating.
But from the 1940s to the 1970s, says Gonder, “Völklingen was one of Europe’s richest towns, and one of the dirtiest. You could paint your house any colour, but in a year it would be dark brown. Today it is poor, but clean.”
And rusting. Green plants grow in the joints of the conveyor belts and along the train tracks.
For some, walking through the plant will be enough. Its size is breathtaking.
To get a more detailed understanding you’ll want either the audio guide that’s included in the admission price or a two-hour tour with someone like Gonder.
That way you’ll learn that the temperature in the blower shed, where 10 turbines pumped air to the blast furnaces, was regularly 50 degrees Celcius, and the noise of the turbines could be heard all over town and in Gonder’s village, nine kilometres away.
You’ll also get the chance to go up to the top level of the six towers to see where the ore was poured into the huge furnaces, producing 7,200 tonnes of steel a day. Now the one modern blast furnace still working next door can do the same.
Access
For more information on the Völklingen Ironworks UNESCO World Heritage industrial site visit it website at www.voelklinger-huette.org.
For information on travel in Germany visit the German National Tourist Office website at www.cometogermany.com.
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