Alte Ziegelei Westeregeln

About the museum

Gypsum was already quarried and burned on the Westeregelner Kalkberg in the 18th century; a lime or gypsum works is documented there around 1743. In 1803 a brickworks was added, which processed the siltstone of the Lower Buntsandstein from the neighboring clay pits. The present Hoffmann ring kiln was approved in 1885 by the estate and brickworks owner Albert Bergling with 14 firing chambers; in 1936 it was extended to 28 chambers and 122 meters in length, and according to the site it is considered one of the longest ring kilns in Europe.

Until 1991, roughly 3.2 million bricks were produced here each year, except in the winter months, using outdated technology and a great deal of manual labor. Production then ended. The Sozial-Aktien-Gesellschaft Bielefeld acquired the site in 1996/97 and has since developed it as a building and industrial monument, brickworks museum and place for employment projects; in 1998 a friends' association was founded to support the restoration.

The site of roughly 72,000 square meters includes, besides the kiln, drying barns and clay processing, a mine railway with about 600 meters of narrow-gauge track, wagons and diesel locomotives. The abandoned clay and gypsum pits are now a geotope and biotope; bones of Ice Age mammals such as mammoth and woolly rhinoceros have also come to light in the gypsum pits.

Highlights

• Hoffmann ring kiln from 1885 with 28 firing chambers
• Mine railway with wagons and diesel locomotives
• Clay pit as geotope and biotope with Ice Age finds
• Walk around the roughly 72,000 m² brickworks site
• Stop on the Salzländer Kulturstempel (Salzland cultural stamp) trail

Permanent exhibitions

• Rundgang über das Ziegeleigelände – Ring kiln, drying barns, clay processing, mine railway and the clay pit as a geotope and biotope.
• Haus 1909 mit Ziegeleimodell – Exhibition room in the former kitchen and canteen building, with a 1:87 scale model of the plant.

Operated by

Sozial-Aktien-Gesellschaft Bielefeld

Admission & discounts

Individual visitors and families usually donate €1 per person toward the upkeep of this building and industrial monument.

Accessibility

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Kids & families

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Getting there & parking

Navigation address: Ziegelei 1. By car from the B 81 toward Westeregeln via Egelner Straße, Breite Straße, Thälmannstraße and Hadmersleber Straße, then turn right to the brickworks.

Amenities & dining

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Events & venue rental

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