By Phaskal from Indonesia

Historical relics are always an interesting thing to visit or see.
Here I will tell you my story, also the story of a place here in Dortmund.

So, I’m Phaskal and I work at the Dortmund Ecumenical Department and here I’ll tell you what I managed to do. A few weeks ago, me and my colleagues were at Phoenix West.

The history of the PHOENIX smelter site goes back to the middle of the 19th century. As early as 1841, Hermannshütte was founded by Hermann Dietrich Piepenstock from Iserlohn on the site of the future PHOENIX lake. About ten years later, the blast furnace works were built on PHOENIX West.

Steel production began at the Hermannshütte in 1843. Over the following decades, the previously rural area around the town centre of Hörde developed into an industrial location that quickly became known for its high-quality steel products. Construction of the blast furnace plant began in 1852, meaning that pig iron, which had previously been imported from Belgium, could also be produced at PHOENIX West from this point onwards. The sixth blast furnace went into operation as early as 1864.

Following the construction of the most modern oxygen steelworks on the continent at the time (1963), Hoesch AG took over the steelworks union on PHOENIX in 1966. At that time, around 10,000 people worked on the site. In 1997, following the takeover of HOESCH AG by the Krupp Group (1992) and the merger of Thyssen and Krupp to form ThyssenKrupp AG, there was only one steel group left in the Ruhr region. This signalled the end of steel production in Dortmund. ThyssenKrupp AG decided between the two steel locations Duisburg and Dortmund in favour of Duisburg on the Rhine. The blast furnaces (PHOENIX West) were shut down in 1998 and Hermannshütte in 2001.

With the PHOENIX project, the tradition-steeped site is now returning to its successful past. ( http://www.phoenixdortmund.de/de/fakten/historie.html )

This neighbourhood, which is undergoing a complete transformation, is now home to modern traditional breweries, avant-garde art galleries and tranquil parks that have brought the district back to life. The blast furnaces and the Hoesch gasometer bear witness to this glorious era in Dortmund’s industrial history.

 

The Phoenixhalle, renamed „Phoenix des Lumières“, is an industrial building that has been renovated and transformed into a venue for immersive digital exhibitions.

I was there with my office team to do the skywalk.
skywalk is a tour programme on Phoenix West that tells the story of Phoenix West. During the programme, people walk on a large tube 40 metres above the ground to see the surviving buildings of the industry. The tour is led by a guide who tells us about the history of Phoenix West.

During this tour we can also enjoy the beautiful view of Dortmund and that makes me very happy.

The whole time I was very happy and proud of myself. For your information, I am a person who is afraid of being in a high place.