Former Merschwitz steam sawmill with tower crane

Former steam sawmill

The Merschwitz steam sawmill was built in 1875/76 on the site of a brickworks and went into operation in 1876, initially with an iron roller saw frame. In its final configuration, a total of four saw frames were available for the production of sawn timber.

The developer of this plant was Ernst Otto Schulze, who had previously operated a brickworks on this site, producing mainly roof tiles (beaver tails) for Merschwitz and the surrounding area. After Ernst Otto Schulze's death, the sawmill was managed by his sons Curt and Max Schulze.

Most of the raw timber to be processed came from Bohemia and was transported to Merschwitz on the Elbe River by raft. Once there, the logs were transported on open wagons (Hunte) on a light railway to the drying area and then to the saw frame halls.

The saw frames were set in motion by a transmission (belt drive) powered by a high-performance steam locomobile built in Magdeburg in 1898. This locomobile was the third oldest in Germany, weighed 30 tons, and was equipped with two flywheels (diameters 3.2 and 2.1 m).

To facilitate and speed up the handling work, a tower crane was erected in 1921, as the existing jib crane no longer met the requirements.

The buyers of the sawn timber came from the region, but also from many places along the Elbe as far as Hamburg. The boards and square timber were transported to these customers using the company's own barges.

In 1945/46, the Schulze family had to produce large quantities of sawn timber (square timber, boards) for the Red Army. Most of the transport to and from the site was organized by the Red Army itself. After that, sawn timber was only produced on a contract basis for the local population.

At the end of May 1957, there was a devastating fire at the timber yard, which severely damaged the boiler house and the gate halls. Reconstruction did not take place; operations were discontinued.