In the approximately 1000 square metre LVR-Industriearchäologischen Park (Industrial-archaeological Park) – the first of its kind in Germany – the impressive history of the St. Antony Hüttenwerk (Ironworks) comes to life in amongst the excavated remains of the former ironworks. Over a period of four years the LVR excavated the remains of walls, foundations and plant components from the St. Antony-Hütte (Ironworks) production site. Now visitors are guided around the excavation site representing the origins of the iron and steel industry and learn many a secret about the cradle of the Ruhr industry.
An audio guided tour in various languages explains when which buildings were standing and how an industrial business developed from the once small ironworks with just a few buildings in which some 100 persons worked. 3-D-animations virtually recreate the former ironworks buildings: a blast furnace, a cupola furnace, a boiler-house, a foundry and a steam compressor to power the furnaces. The constructions are raised, reconstructed and demolished according to the actual development and clearly reproduce the function and appearance of the ironworks.
The project was sponsored by the NRW-Stiftung Natur Heimat Kultur, the Ministerium für Bauen und Verkehr des Landes Nordrhein-Westfalen, MAN AG and MAN-Diesel und Turbo AG, Heinrich Becker GmbH, Sparkassen-Bürgerstiftung Oberhausen, Sparkassen Kulturstiftung Rheinland and the Gesellschaft zur Förderung des LVR-Industriemuseums.
