Forging mile Ybbsitz

Eight milestones mark a path

Ybbsitz has many sides and numerous facets. The forging industry, however, has left its mark on the town like no other guild.

The three kilometre long forge mile has become a backbone on which the town and its inhabitants align themselves.
Between the Little Ybbs, the foothills of the Alps, the stately farms in the north and the Prochenberg and Maisberg in the south, a land spreads out that lives from the authenticity of its economic situation and past and draws strength and charm from the interwoven world of nature and work.

Milestones:

  1. FeRRUM - world of iron
  2. foam market
  3. Free time of the smithy (Dr.-Meyer-Park)
  4. Sonneck Plant IV
  5. Fahrngruber Hammer
  6. Hammer mill Eybl
  7. The loops in the Noth (adventure bridge)
  8. Einöd Hammer (Wehrsteg)

1. FeRRum - world of iron

In the historical Kremayr House on Ybbsitzer Marktplatz, which dates predominantly from the Renaissance period, the FeRRUM - world of iron, a completely redesigned adventure museum, was created.
The house, for which reconstruction work began in August 2005, was converted into a multifaceted world of experience for visitors interested in history, culture and art in June 2006 when it was completed.
Under one roof there is a "metal and experience centre" designed according to the most modern criteria, which is primarily geared to leisure tourism needs, but which has also found and maintained its place as a cultural and historical centre of the region to strengthen the regional identity.
The scientific concept of Markus Reuter and Norbert Bacher was implemented by the renowned team of architects around Wolfgang Hochmeister according to the most modern architectural aspects.

2. Foam market

The ritualized quality control of the blacksmith guild gave the square in front of the "Black House" its name. A second milestone tells of the professional associations and self-help organisations of the Ybbsitzer Schmiede: the Frauenzeche, mentioned as early as 1417, the "Genossenschaft der Schmiede", founded in 1885, and the "Vereinigte Schmiedegewerke in Ybbsitz", a factory and sales cooperative founded in 1903.

3. Free time of the smithy - Dr. Meyer-Park

The blacksmiths worked up to 16 hours a day. Also the celebration on feast days and anniversaries - for example on the forge year day, the name day of the forge patron Eligius - followed certain rituals of the community life. The Ferraculum festivals, organised every two years, are of modern origin and offer artists a stage for their performances, but are in the tradition of the Ybbsite blacksmiths. The near-natural children's playground created in the Dr.-Meyer-Park is a meeting point and offers space for children to romp about.

4. Sonneck forge (Sonneck IV plant)

Emanuel Sonneck, a native of Iglau in Moravia, took over the business of his employer, a maturing knife blacksmith, in 1875. In the twentieth century the Sonneck company increasingly focused on the production of heels, shovels, hammers, hooks, axes, cramps and custom-made products.

5. Fahrngruber Hammer

Heels, axes and axes were produced here from the 16th century up to the eighties of the 20th century.
Today the exemplary restored hammer mill is used for show forge demonstrations. Opening hours:
The Fahrngruber Hammer is open for you by appointment on +43 07443 85300.

6. Hammer mill Eybl

The now restored hammer mill is used as a studio as well as for forging demonstrations and courses. The two intact tail hammers are particularly worth seeing.
The so-called Strunz Hammer also drew its energy from the water of the Prollingbach like the other hammer works; it barely escaped its decay and has been a listed building since 1979. www.eyblhammer.at

7. The loops in the Noth

Thirteen grinding workshops once stood in the Noth Gorge, where the tools for sale were precisely ground. On the site where a looping building was reconstructed in 2000, a sample loop was erected in 1893, which was seen as a lifeline for the declining small iron industry. In vain, it was closed in 1916.

8. The Einöd Hammer

The eighth and last milestone of the experience path Schmiedemeile presents one of the most beautiful still existing hammer mills of Ybbsitz in its typical design. Originally it produced hoes, hatchets and hoar knives, and finally shovels, hammers and cramps. Until today, however, the building is still used as a blacksmith's workshop.