Experience glassmaking up close

Sand, soda ash and lime – the raw materials from which glass is made have remained the same to this day. Apart from that, a lot has changed in glass production in the last 700 years, since the first forest glassworks were built on the Weser. In Petershagen, on the banks of the Weser, lies Gernheim - a factory town from the early 19th century. A monumental conical tower on the steep banks of the Weser is reminiscent of a 19th-century glassworks, which for a time was one of the most important factories in northwest Germany. As the location of the LWL Industrial Museum, the Gernheim glassworks primarily documents the living and working conditions in early industrialization. Visitors can look over the shoulders of glassmakers at work every day. Still preserved today are workers' houses, the former factory owner's villa, the administration, an inn, the basket weaving workshop with the factory school and Gernheim's landmark: the cone-shaped glassworks tower from 1826. The historic melting furnace was reconstructed and equipped with new technology for demonstration production. Just as 100 years ago, glassmakers use the pipe to make glasses and bottles from red-hot mass. A cutter and engraver refines the glasses after they have cooled. The pieces are sold in the museum shop. The permanent exhibition presents the stages of glass production and provides information about the living and working conditions of Gernheim's employees and their families, and offers a tour through the history of glass from 1800 to the present day. Exhibition: History, Workers' Life, Packaging, Transport & Trade, Glass History/s, Show Production With Auguste and Wilhelm in the glassworks – offer for children  Auguste and Wilhelm are two children of glassmakers who lived in Gernheim 150 years ago. As figures, they accompany our young guests on their discovery tour through the museum. An explorer map leads to nine stations. Large picture books with short stories explain the work in the glassworks and the everyday work of the glassmakers. At the melting furnace, the little explorers watch the glassmakers at work and are also allowed to try out how difficult it is to blow glass. In the workers' apartments, a puzzle has to be put together. In addition, our young guests can play with marbles, just like children of the glassmakers of old. Those who have filled out the questionnaire correctly at the end of the museum rally will receive a prize and a certificate. Marry: The manor house of the Gernheim glassworks was built in 1812 by the founder of the glassworks, Fritz Schrader. Until 1877, the owners of the huts lived there with their families. A few years ago, the rooms and the garden were restored according to historical models, so that the former garden room, which was already used for social events in Schrader's time, now shines in new splendor. Against the background of decorative wall decorations, with a view of the extensive garden, civil weddings can now take place here. There are about 30 seats available (information: registry office Petershagen, Tel. 05702-822141) UNESCO: In 2015, the manual production of mouth-blown hollow and flat glass was included in UNESCO's nationwide list of intangible cultural heritage.