In 1983 Dyno Industrier A/S opened a museum which formed part of their plant at Hurum, 12 miles south-east of Drammen, on the site of the factory established in 1875-76 by Alfred Nobel (1833-96). The inauguration of the museum marked the 150th anniversary of Nobel’s birth. Subsequently the factory closed, the voluntary association that staffed the museum ceased to function, and the Australian company which owns the site expressed its intention to clear all the buildings. In 2009 25 buildings that formed part of the factory, of which 12 were used by the museum, were taken under the protection of the county of Buskerud, but the future of the museum remains uncertain. The buildings are characteristic of those used in explosives manufacturing, with strong walls on three sides and a weak wall on the other so that the force of any explosion will go in the least harmful direction. The highlight of the museum is a complete production line for making dynamite, from a period when the process was largely hand-operated. There are many photographs of the factory when it was working, and a model of a nearby sulphuric acid plant which worked between 1915 and 1868. Many of the houses built by the factory owners for their workers still stand, some of them dating from 1875-76.
Historical Explosives Museum
Spængstoff Historisk Museum
Engeneveien
Hurum
Norway
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