In the panorama we see the former foundry of the machine tool factory Hermann und Alfred Escher AG. It was in operation until 1982, was saved from demolition by the reunification of Germany and then renovated. Since 2003, the Chemnitz Industrial Museum (Industriemusem Chemnitz) has been located here as part of the Saxon Industrial Museum. In addition to the foundry, the site also includes the engine house on the right-hand side of the picture. Both buildings are connected by a modern museum entrance designed by the Berlin based architects C. A. Pauli and P. Wermund.
Architecture
The foundry hall is an architecturally valuable heritage building of Saxon industrial architecture. The striking round arch architecture of the facade on Zwickauer Straße conceals four hall aisles, each 14 metres wide and 52 metres long. The façade is clad in clinker brick and bears a statue of an industrial worker above the museum lettering. The roof is designed as a shed roof.
Year of Industrial Culture in Saxony
2020 has been declared a theme year for industrial culture in Saxony (Jahr der Industriekultur Sachsen). Within this framework, the Industrial Museum in Chemnitz is hosting the “MaschinenBoom.” exhibition as a Schauplatz to the central exhibition, which will be shown in the Audi-Bau in Zwickau.
Industriemuseum
The Industrial Museum conveys the technical development of the Saxon industry from the end of the 18th century to the present day and links it with the social and economic history of the state. The exhibition focuses on mining, the textile industry, mechanical engineering and automotive engineering. Among the most important exhibits are the “DKW Tower” with a collection of DKW cars, a modern body welding plant with industrial robots, a steam hammer of the Saxon Machine Factory from 1923 as well as numerous exhibits of world-famous Saxon inventions. The museum is an anchor point of the European Route of Industrial Heritage (ERIH).
Another impressive example of Chemnitz industrial architecture is shown in our panorama of the Wanderer Werke.
This street front view of the Industriemuseum Chemnitz is a contribution to the Saxon Year of Industrial Culture 2020.
