Sintering plant
Sintering plant | UNESCO Visitor Centre
Year of construction: 1928, added to in 1938
In operation: 58 years until the works were shut down
One of the largest sinter plants in Europe was built in Völklingen in 1928. Sintering is a high-temperature process that is used to fuse together the ore dust that is produced when iron ore is crushed for use in a blast furnace. This was done by heating it up to melting temperature. The material was then broken into pieces about the size of a fist, cooled, and reused in the blast furnace. This reduced the consumption of raw materials and improved the quality of the pig iron.
L'installation de frittage, vue extérieure encadrée par des arbres
Copyright: Weltkulturerbe Völklinger Hütte | Karl Heinrich Veith
Blick ins UNESCO-Besucherzentrum
Copyright: Weltkulturerbe Völklinger Hütte | Karl Heinrich Veith
Survey model of the Völklingen Ironworks in the UNESCO Visitor Centre
Copyright: Weltkulturerbe Völklinger Hütte | Tom Gundelwein
Staircase of the sinter plant with a photo of the former Wehrden power plant
Copyright: Weltkulturerbe Völklinger Hütte | Karl Heinrich Veith
Ascent to the maintenance level of the drive of the sinter belts
Copyright: Weltkulturerbe Völklinger Hütte | Karl Heinrich Veith
Detailaufnahme vom Sinterband
Copyright: Weltkulturerbe Völklinger Hütte | Karl Heinrich Veith
Christian Boltanski, The Forced Labourers. Small corridor with numbered archive boxes to the right and left
Copyright: Weltkulturerbe Völklinger Hütte | Hans-Georg Merkel
Right side of the blower hall of the sintering plant with two sinter blowers
Copyright: Weltkulturerbe Völklinger Hütte | Karl Heinrich Veith
The left side of the sinter blower hall with the screw-like blowers
Copyright: Weltkulturerbe Völklinger Hütte | Karl Heinrich Veith
Impression from the sintering plant
Copyright: Weltkulturerbe Völklinger Hütte | Karl Heinrich Veith
Today, the complex houses the UNESCO Visitor Centre of the World Heritage Site Völklingen Ironworks. Visitors will find information there on UNESCO, UNESCO World Heritage Sites, the history of the Völklingen Ironworks, and the history of the sinter plant. The middle floor houses the large installation by Christian Boltanski entitled "Forced Labourers – Memorial at Völklinger Hütte". The World Heritage Site Völklingen Ironworks has set up the permanent exhibition on the history of the Röchling family on the ground floor.
