Flottmann-Hallen

Herne is not only a mining town, it is also know as the “city of hammer drills”, because in 1902 one of the most important mining suppliers settled here, viz., Flottmann-Werke. When in 1908, a new forge, locksmithery, exhibition and shipping building became necessary, Flottmann commissioned the architects Schmidtmann and Klemp, who designed the symmetrically broken down, five-nave structure in Flottmannstraße. It combines the Darmstadt art nouveau design language with an objective and monumental style.
Flottmann’s pneumatic hammer drills played a huge role in the first wave of mechanisation in the German mining industry. While prior to WW I, only 2 per cent of the coal was mined with such machines, in 1932 it was 97 per cent. After 1945, the company faced new challenges. New trade relations had to be entered into, machines and production sites had to be modernised. Over the following decades, the Flottmann mining machines asserted themselves in the market, too. In 1983, the company moved for a second time and danger loomed for the defunct factory buildings in form of a wrecking ball. However. the Flottmnnstraße complex was listed and thus saved at the last moment. In its converted form, it is now a popular art, music, drama and sports centre known far beyond the confines of Herne.
You will find more information at route-industriekultur.de

Author: Route der Industriekultur/ editorial baukunst-nrw
Last changed on 19.02.2008

Categories:
Architecture » Public Buildings » Cultural (cinemas, theatres, museums)
Architecture » Commercial Buildings » Industrial