In 1920 the Bayerisches Landestorfwerke GmbH (Bavarian Peat Company) established a processing plant at Grassau on the edge of what is now the Kendlemühlfilzen nature reserve, near the Chiemsee and the railway from Munich to Salzburg. The 800 ha stretch of moorland from which peat was extracted has been protected on account of its ecological importance since 1992. The principal structure is a 17 m high wooden-framed building which incorporates a peat baler. The factory closed in 1998, and volunteers now display the site to visitors, who can inspect the main building and see an exhibition explaining the peat economy in Bavaria, and displaying discoveries, including a plank road from Celtic times, made during the extraction of peat in the area. The 880 mm gauge railway that brought peat from the moorland to the plant once extended over 30 route km. A small stretch has been preserved and takes visitors for tours of the moorland behind four small diesel locomotives brought in from elsewhere.
Bavarian Moorland and Peat Museum
Bayerisches Moor- und Torfmuseum
Hackenstrasse
83224 Rottau
Germany
+49 (0) 8051 - 9674701
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