Technisches Denkmal Gaswerk Neustadt (Dosse)

About the museum

The Neustadt (Dosse) gasworks was planned in 1902 and put into operation in 1903. From hard coal it produced town gas in horizontal retort ovens for street lighting and heating; coke and tar were sought-after by-products. Work was done in twelve-hour shifts, and the plant grew with the town – in the early 1960s, further retort ovens were added.

Even in GDR times the works was recognized as a technical monument. Production ended in September 1980 when the town was connected to the long-distance gas network. Since it had hardly been modernized, the technology from its early years has been preserved almost completely; the friends' association emphasizes that there is only one comparable works with horizontal retorts left in Europe, in Greece.

In 1999 the Förderverein zur Erhaltung des Gaswerkes (association for the preservation of the gasworks) was founded, and since September 2000 it has offered tours of the plant and the exhibition in the adjoining building. In 2008, a fundraising campaign by Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg made possible the renovation of the gas holder and the oven house facade; in the former coal bunker an exhibition on the gasworks of Brandenburg opened. Further rooms are devoted to household gas appliances as well as the mirror manufactory and the Huguenots in the district of Spiegelberg, whose exhibition was revised in 2022 with state funding.

Highlights

• Original, preserved horizontal retort ovens for town gas production
• Telescopic gas holder and complete purification plant
• Collection of historic household gas appliances
• Exhibition on the gasworks in the state of Brandenburg
• Exhibition on the mirror manufactory and the Huguenots in Neustadt

Permanent exhibitions

• Gasherstellung – Gas und Umwelt – Explains the path from hard coal to town gas, the use of the by-products tar, benzene and ammonia, and occupational health and safety in the works.
• Gaswerke Brandenburgs – The exhibition in the former coal bunker presents large and small gasworks in the state – from the beginnings in Potsdam and Frankfurt to the industrial ruin.
• Spiegelberg – Spiegelmanufaktur – Uses models to show flat glass and mirror production in Neustadt between 1689 and 1840 and tells of the Huguenot community on the Spiegelberg.

Founded

2000

Operated by

Förderverein zur Erhaltung des Gaswerkes Neustadt Dosse e.V.

Admission & discounts

Bike rental at the gasworks: €7 per day per bike.

Accessibility

• Partially wheelchair accessible
• Elevator: no information
• Accessible restroom: not available
• Accessible parking: not available
• Service dogs welcome: no information
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

Outdoor grounds step-free, paths with cobblestones and grass. The interior is reached via two steps (13 cm in total), the entrance door is 117 cm wide. The restroom door is 65 cm wide, no grab bars.

Kids & families

• Hands-on stations

The historic technology can partly be touched.

Getting there & parking

Amenities & dining

Bike rental at the gasworks.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this – please ask the museum directly.

Plan your visit