Industrial history in Gröditz - Steel
Please note: This page was machine-translated. If anything is unclear, the German version is authoritative.
Ironworks – Steelworks – Forges
The Gröditz ironworks was built in 1779/1780. During this period, the then owner, the Royal Saxon Minister of State Count Detlev Carl von Einsiedel, had a so-called bar mill with a coal shed and residential building constructed “in place of the grinding and cutting mill in the village of Gröditz.” The bar mill was a branch of the parent company in Lauchhammer, which had been founded in 1725.
Good conditions – the water power of the Große Röder river, the huge forest areas, significant deposits of bog iron ore in the surrounding area and, last but not least, the Grödel-Elsterwerda raft canal – spoke in favor of Gröditz as a location. Initially, the pig iron was transported directly to the foundry via the raft canal, which was completed in 1748, and until 1942, the clay and molding sand were brought in on canal boats.
From 1815 onwards, the factories in Gröditz and Lauchhammer were separated by the border between the kingdoms of Prussia and Saxony as a result of the provisions of the Congress of Vienna, which also became a customs border in 1818. The owner of the two Lauchhammer factories had to contend with all the economic obstacles this entailed.
The customs tariffs and the associated significant increase in the price of pig iron prompted the decision to produce pig iron in Gröditz. In May 1819, the first smelting and casting took place in the newly built cupola furnace in the presence of Count Detlev Carl von Einsiedel. The foundation stone for a blast furnace was laid as early as May 1825. It was blown in at Easter (April 17, 1827), and the smelting process lasted until December of the same year.
Renewed customs negotiations in 1833 (abolition of customs barriers) improved German trade, which was a further prerequisite for the expansion of the factory. The foundry facilities were expanded and improved, and other ancillary workshops necessary for the foundry trade were built. In 1872, the Gröditz ironworks became the property of a stock corporation called “Lauchhammer” Vereinigte vormals Gräflich AG Lauchhammer, based in Riesa (AG Lauchhammer).
In 1875, the ironworks was connected to the Elsterwerda–Riesa railway line, which had been built in 1873. Until then, the finished products had to be transported to the nearest railway stations at Langenberg and Röderau. In 1883, the foundation was laid for a new production facility – the temper casting plant. The company began to specialize in the manufacture of gas pipe fittings. At the beginning of the 20th century, the decision was made to build a new steel foundry.
The merger of the Gröditz plant with Linke-Hoffmann-Werke-AG was signed in 1923. AG Lauchhammer lost its independence and was renamed Linke-Hoffmann-Lauchhammer-AG.
In 1926, the stock corporation merged with the Flick Group to form Mitteldeutsche Stahlwerke AG, and the Gröditz plant was given the suffix Lauchhammerwerk Gröditz. During World War II, workers from all parts of Germany were employed in the Gröditz armaments industry, along with many forcibly deported foreign workers, concentration camp prisoners, and prisoners of war. In January 1945, 4,984 forced laborers were employed in the Gröditz steelworks.
From July 16, 1945, the Gröditz ironworks was dismantled, and by the beginning of August 1946, the dismantling was almost complete. After the referendum in 1946, the ironworks officially became a state-owned enterprise and was renamed “VEB Eisen- und Stahlwerk Gröditz” in 1948 and “VEB Stahl- und Walzwerk” in 1951. Reconstruction focused on the traditional products of the Gröditz plant from the foundries, the ring rolling mill, and the forge. In 1973, VEB Stahl- und Walzwerk Gröditz was affiliated with VEB Rohrkombinat Riesa.
With the introduction of monetary, economic, and social union in 1990, VEB Stahl- und Walzwerk was converted into a corporation and given the new company name “Gröditzer Stahlwerke GmbH.” Many areas were spun off in the following years and some departments were closed. In 1997, the plant was privatized and taken over by Georgsmarienhütte Holding GmbH. In 2004, steel casting production was spun off and became an independent company within the GMH Group (Georgsmarienhütte).
