Frohnauer Hammer
Full details
| English title | The Frohnau Hammer Mill |
| Authors & editors | |
| Publisher | Technisches Museum Frohnauer Hammer |
| Languages | German (main text) |
| Medium | Book |
| Edition | 1 |
| Topics | |
| Tags | |
| Scope & content | Summary TranslationA guide to the hammer mill in Frohnau in the Ore Mountains of Saxony. It was built on the site of a 15th century flour mill, which, after the discovery of silver in the area in about 1500, was put to various uses relating to mining, until finally converted to a hammer mill for iron in 1657.The guide describes the ownership of the mill and the formation of an “industrial nobility” as mill owners’ families intermarried. Their wealth was reflected in the furnishings of the living quarters and other expenses, and their extensive business interests. It goes on to describe the lives of the workers, their poor working conditions, wages and expenses and living conditions.The following pages describe in detail the technology, including the water wheel used to work the bellows and a second which drove the hammer, whose speed of rotation could be regulated in order to control the hammer blows.As for the destination of the mill’s output, 40% went for use by the local mining and metallurgical industry, 40% for use by the court in Dresden, and the remainder for local agriculture and forestry.The mill started to be overtaken by more modern technology from about 1840 and ceased operation in 1904. Since 1952 it has been a museum.The guide is illustrated with photos of the exterior and interior, of coins and examples of items made of iron, and two diagrams showing the principles by which it operated. |
Copies held
Accession no. 229787
- Shelf location: W 114.3_ANO
- Donor: Ken Major Collection