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15.05.13
ERIH Annual Conference 2013 - Save the date - Call for papers now open
ERIH Annual Conference 2013 – Back in the Ruhr Subject:...
15.04.13
ERIH Board meeting in Katowice/Poland
On invitation of the Silesian Voivodeship the ERIH board met in Katowice/Poland and discussed with...
01.03.13
Review of the ERIH Annual Conference 2012
More than 100 delegates from 15 European Countries attended the ERIH Conference 2012 in September...
The glow of the blast furnaces. European Theme Route Iron & Steel
Two steps are needed to make iron and steel – the key materials of the industrial era - from iron ore. First, the ore has to be smelted in the blast furnace to produce pig iron, which is then refined in the fire to produce wrought iron or steel. Both steps are dependent on the type of fuel used. Hard coal is not suitable for producing iron because its trace elements, above all sulphur, can damage the metal. For this reason charcoal was used in furnaces and forges until the start of the 18th century when a shortage of firewood made it very expensive.
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Swansea | National Waterfront Museum |
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Cambrian Place | SA1 1SN Swansea | Great Britain |
| Large kinetic sculptures in continuous movement. Movies and computer screens with interactive film sequences. Graphics and projections. A multi-media show wall demonstrating how fireproof bricks, iron... more >> |
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Taynuilt | Bonawe Iron Furnace |
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off the A85 (B845) | PA35 1 Taynuilt | Great Britain |
| Bonawe furnace was built in 1753 by ironmasters from Newland, near Ulverston in Furness, who used charcoal from the extensive Argyll woodlands to smelt hematite ores shipped from the Lake District. Th... more >> |
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Telford | Iron Bridge |
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Ironbridge Gorge Museum TrustCoach RoadCoalbrookdale | TF8 7DQ Telford | Great Britain |
| Length: 30.6 metres. Height: 16.75 metres. Weight: 378 tons. These are the basic facts about the Iron Bridge, which spans the Severn Valley in Telford. But who can regard the history of the first ever... more >> |
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Telford-Ironbridge | Blists Hill Victorian Town |
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Legges WayMadeley | TF7 5DU Telford-Ironbridge | Great Britain |
| You’ll need to exchange some money at the bank when you arrive, because the coins they used in 1900 were very different to the ones in your pocket today. But even a few pennies can buy quite a lot i... more >> |
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Torre de Moncorvo | Iron Museum of the Moncorvo Region |
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Largo Dr Balbino Rego 7 | 5160 Torre de Moncorvo | Portugal |
| Torre de Moncorvo, 150 km E of Oporto, was, from Roman times, a significant centre of ironmaking. All the iron ore mines are now closed, but the remains of an eighteenth century blast furnace at Chapa... more >> |
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Tvedestrand | Næs Ironworks museum |
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Nes Verk | 4900 Tvedestrand | Norway |
| The Næs Ironworks in the Trevedestrand commune on the south-east coast of Norway, 75 km north east of Kristiansand, was established in the 17th century. It was modernised by Thomas Cranford from the ... more >> |
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Uckange | Blast Furnace U4 |
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1, Jardin des Traces | 572709 Uckange | France |
| Blast furnace U4 is a rusty fossil. The oldest furnace in the Lorraine coal basin stands alone on an open industrial steppe alongside the 953 main road and the River Fensch. The adjacent furnaces have... more >> |
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Ulft | DRU industrial park |
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Hutteweg 24 | 7071 BV Ulft | Netherlands |
Waar eens aan de rand van Ulft, langs de Oude IJssel, ijzeren en emaillen gebruiksvoorwerpen werden gemaakt, ontstaat nu een o... |
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Vallorbe | Iron and Railway Museum |
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Rue des Grandes Forges 11 | 1337 Vallorbe | Switzerland |
| Vallorbe is a watch-making town, but the surrounding district in the Canton of Vaud was for centuries celebrated for iron working. The sites of three blast furnaces and 30 forges have been identified ... more >> |
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Velsen-Noord | HoogovensMuseum |
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Wenckebachstraat 1 | 1951 JZ Velsen-Noord | Netherlands |
| Tata Steel, formerly known as Hoogovens, is one of the main steelfactories in Europe.
The complex is not accessible to the public. But for who admires the spectaclular scenery of heavy industry, this... more >> |
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Völklingen | World Heritage Site Voelklingen Iron Works |
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Rathausstraße 75 | 66302 Völklingen | Germany |
| The Völklinger Hütte (ironworks) in Germany’s Saarland, which was shut down in 1986, can be justifiably described as an industrial dinosaur. It extends over an area of 600,000 square metres and ex... more >> |
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Vordernberg | Styrian Iron Trail |
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Hauptplatz | 8794 Vordernberg | Austria |
| The area around the Erzberg (the Iron Mountain) has been an important source of iron since the middle ages, and the important Voest Alpine steelworks remains at Donawitz. The area is rich in the remai... more >> |
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Wenden | Wenden Ironworks |
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Hochofenstraße 6d | 57482 Wenden | Germany |
| The first ever blast furnaces like the smelting furnace in Wenden were enclosed in huts to protect them from the weather. Here in the region of Olpe a museum has been opened to show the gradual growth... more >> |
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Wien | Technical Museum |
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212 Mariahilfer Strasse | 1140 Wien | Austria |
| The technical museum in Vienna holds many artefacts of significance to the industrial history of Europe. It was formally established in 1908, with Dr Ludwig Erhard as its director, as part of the jubi... more >> |
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Ybbsitz | FERRUM. The World of Iron |
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Markt 24 | 3341 Ybbsitz | Austria |
| The area around the market town of Ybbitz, 35 km south-east of Steyr, and 45 km north of the Iron Mountain was celebrated from the sixteenth century for the products of the many smiths who settled the... more >> |
