It might be just old metals. But, it is Saarland heritage to the world. It is Voelklingen Ironworks, my Saarland destination of the month.
Voelklingen Ironworks is located in Voelklingen, a city near to Saarbruecken, the capital city of Saarland. In year 1994 it was listed to UNESCO World Heritage Sites as a cultural heritage based on criteria ii (to exhibit an important interchange of human values, over a span of time or within a cultural area of the world, on developments in architecture or technology, monumental arts, town-planning or landscape design) and criteria iv (to be an outstanding example of a type of building, architectural or technological ensemble or landscape which illustrates (a) significant stage(s) in human history).
Voelklingen Ironworks was built in the 19th century. The ironworks portrays architecture during the industrial revolution in Europe. During this time, Saarland depended on its steel productions. Besides Voelklingen Ironworks, there is also another big ironworks in Neunkirchen. Until today the machines in Voelklingen Ironworks hasn't been replaced by the new one. That is why this ironworks is a cultural heritage. We may imagine how people produce steels from 19th to 20th century.
The area is divided into 7 parts. It is open everyday from 10 AM to 6 PM. The entrance fee is 12 EUR for adults.
How to get there?
There are actually many public transportations to reach this site. You can take a train from Saarbruecken and get off at Voelklingen. The ironworks is very near from the train station.
My personal experience
Okay, enough with all infos about Voelklingen Ironworks. I'm going to tell my personal experience today. First, screw snow. I could only get in to 2 rooms because the area was too dangerous. I haven't explored the whole ironworks! That is so lame.
But the good part is that it has this exposition: Die Kelten. Druiden, Fursten, Krieger. It is an expo of celtic culture. And, I'm happy because I learned many new things. I even hadn't known that the Celts lived in Saarland around 400 BC. And, I got many infos about the Gauls and the Romans.
In the end, I recommend you to visit Voelklingen Ironworks before this expo ends. It ends on May 22nd. Besides that, Voelklingen Ironworks is a must-see destination in Saarland for its huge unmodernized machines. Voelklingen Ironworks also lets you experience a miner's life in the 19th century.
Source:
http://www.voelklinger-huette.org/
http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/687
n.b. some of the pictures were taken with my phone. Sorry for the bad quality
No comments:
Post a Comment