Textilfabrik Cromford

Om museet

In 1783/84, the Wuppertal merchant Johann Gottfried Brügelmann had a water-powered cotton mill built on the small Anger river near Ratingen. His model was Richard Arkwright's mill in Cromford, England, whose spinning machine (the “Water Frame”) Brügelmann had replicated with the help of recruited English skilled workers. This created the first fully mechanized factory on the European continent; around 1800, twelve of these machines were running here at the same time.

Next to the five-story “Hohe Fabrik” (High Mill), the family built a late Baroque mansion in the style of a pleasure palace, which served as both residence and company headquarters. The company survived several crises and changes of ownership in the 19th and 20th centuries. After operations ended, the Hohe Fabrik, counting house, mansion and 18th-century workers' housing were preserved, while more recent buildings were demolished or converted.

The Landschaftsverband Rheinland (LVR, the Rhineland regional authority) opened the complex in September 1996 as a site of its industrial museum. In the Hohe Fabrik, a large water wheel drives a faithful replica of the Water Frame with 96 spindles; the mansion, renovated in 2009/10, shows the life of the manufacturer's family and the painted garden hall. The exhibition also addresses the links between the cotton trade, slavery and colonialism. Since April 2025, the mill has been undergoing conversion for accessibility and the permanent exhibition is being redesigned.

Højdepunkter

• First fully mechanized factory on the European mainland
• Working replica of the Water Frame, driven by a water wheel
• Late Baroque mansion with painted garden hall
• Demonstrations of the hand spinning wheel and Spinning Jenny (during the renovation)
• Exhibition workshop “Weiße Kleider” on fashion from 1770 to 1850

Permanente udstillinger

• Baumwolle und die Anfänge der Industrie – The permanent exhibition in the Hohe Fabrik and the mansion shows early factory operations around 1800 and the life of the Brügelmann family of manufacturers. During the conversion of the mill, the hand spinning wheel and Spinning Jenny are demonstrated in the mansion.
• Weiße Kleider – Ausstellungswerkstatt im Herrenhaus – Seven white women's dresses, sewn from historical patterns from the Rococo, Empire and Biedermeier periods, illustrate the changes in fashion and the image of women between 1770 and 1850. The small exhibition is deliberately designed to conserve resources.

Grundlagt

1996

Ejer

Landschaftsverband Rheinland (LVR-Industriemuseum)

Ledelse

Claudia Gottfried

Entrépriser & rabatter

During the conversion of the Hohe Fabrik, “pay what you want” applies: visitors set the admission price themselves. Separate prices apply for events, guided tours and workshops. Regular rates after the reopening have not yet been published.

Tilgængelighed

• Delvis kørestolsvenlig
• Elevator
• Handicaptoilet
• Handicapparkering
• Servicehunde tilladt
• Taktile tilbud
• Rundvisninger på tegnsprog
• Letlæste tilbud
• Synstolkning: ingen oplysninger

Mansion accessible via a ramp or ground-level entrance, elevator to the first, third and fourth floors (museum education room in the attic only via stairs). Cobblestones in the courtyard, no loaner wheelchair, no tactile guidance system for the blind. The Hohe Fabrik will get an exterior elevator up to the attic as part of the conversion. Tactile tours for blind visitors and tours with German Sign Language (DGS) interpretation (costs covered by the LVR) can be booked through Kulturinfo Rheinland.

Børn og familie

Velegnet til børn og familier

• Familieomvisninger & workshops
• Børnefødselsdage

Regular family tours with hands-on activities as well as workshops and activities during the Easter, summer, and fall holidays. Birthday parties, depending on the program, for ages 6, 8, or 9 and up (2.5 to 3 hours). During the renovation of the Hohe Fabrik, only the manor house is accessible.

Transport & parkering

The direct footpath from the stop is steep (up to about 12% gradient); there is an accessible alternative to the rear entrance of the Hohe Fabrik.

Service & spisesteder

• Café
• Restaurant: findes ikke
• Museumsbutik

Museum café in the former vestibule of the manor house with a view of Cromford Park (outdoors in good weather). Museum shop. Dogs other than service dogs are not allowed.

Arrangementer & udlejning

• Lokaler til leje
• Private fester
• Firmaarrangementer
• Bryllupper / vielser

Three rooms in the mansion for seminars, small family celebrations and receptions; in the mill, the area by the water wheel for receptions. Civil wedding ceremonies of the town of Ratingen in the garden hall (max. 30 people, 20 seats) on selected Saturdays and some Friday afternoons.

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