The huge blast furnace was located where the parking lot is today. It was the heart of the ironworks, where the pig iron was produced. Melting iron ore requires a temperature of 1540 degrees Celsius, and the blast furnace was hence equipped with water-powered bellows. The iron ore was first roasted and beaten into smaller pieces. Layers of ore and charcoal was placed in the blast furnace, and lime added if necessary. The blast furnace was operating continously for 2-3 years at the time.
Know-how and technology came from Germany and was transferred orally. It wasn’t until the Royal Mining Academy at Kongsberg was established in 1757, that expertize on subjects like metallurgy developed in Norway. During the 19th century, the Norwegian iron industry struggled with low demand and increased foreign competition. Here at Eidsfoss, the blast furnace production was phased out in the 1880s, when the company, as most Norwegian ironworks, became an iron foundry. That meant remelteing scrap iron in cupola furnaces. The last stoves were made at Eidsfoss in 1961.
Bridges and Waterways Connecting it All
On this map from the end of the ironworks era, we can see how the blast furnace and the other industrial buildings were linked to a system of water channels, which provided power for water wheels that drove bellows, or supplied running water – something that was needed in many of the processes. We can also see that the furnace was connected to the coal stores via a bridge, which was also linked to the roasting furnaces (the two round buildings on either side of the bridge). In the roasting furnaces, the ore was burnt so that it became brittle and could be broken up into smaller pieces, which was essential for the process in the blast furnace to work. The coal store closest to the blast furnace and the roasting furnaces served as an intermediate storage facility for the raw materials used in the blast furnace and roasting furnace processes, namely lime, coal and ore. It was, in turn, connected to the coal stores further up. A great deal of storage space was required for coal, as it was transported across the ice in winter. The entire summer’s supply therefore had to be stored here.
The factory site
The buildings on the factory site are industrial buildings constructed before and after the Second World War. Many of these are worthy of preservation. These include the two-storey, yellow wooden building that served as the workers’ canteen (1945).
Blåskuret (1945), or Blekkverket, was a parts store, and the original shelving and storage fittings are still intact. The old bicycle shed belonging to the works still stands behind ‘Smia’, the knife-maker Knut Dahl’s workshop, and is used as a garage.
Today, the area is home to a variety of small businesses, including the mechanical workshops Markem and Botnetank.
One of the fine brick buildings, Pusseriet, is used as a studio by the sculptor Harald Oredam.
The Carpentry Workshop (c. 1880)
Most of the materials and components for the various buildings were produced at the carpentry workshop. In addition, tools used at the works were made and repaired there. Today, the carpentry workshop is home to the Molene yarn shop and the railway history exhibition, ‘Fremtidstoget’. Many of the old machines from the carpentry workshop remain on display as part of the exhibition.
The Warehouse (c. 1890)
One of the oldest storage buildings on the site now houses the Eidsfoss Industrial History Collections (EIS). The museum highlights the emergence of the ironworks community and displays various products manufactured at Eidsfoss through the exhibition ‘Glimpses of Ironworks Operations and Furnace Casting at Eidsfoss’. Among other things, they have a large collection of old furnaces. EIS is part of the Vestfold Museums.
The Paint Shop (c. 1900)
The Paint Shop was built using old materials from the blast furnace, which was demolished in the 1880s.
The Office (1940)
This white wooden building, with its intricate carvings around the windows, has served as the director’s office, the foreman’s office, the materials manager’s office and a drawing room. The basement housed the site’s command centre and air-raid siren. Today, it is home to the small company Cordina A/S.
The Water Tower (1901)
Adjacent to the Office stands the water tower, which supplied water to the steam locomotives on the railway.
The Guardhouse (1941)
This is where the works’ time clock was located, and it is said that the workers’ wives were given their husbands’ wages every other Friday. The fence around the works site was erected during the war, probably to prevent espionage and unauthorised access.
The Smithy (1991)
The smithy was built on the same site as the works’ old mechanical workshop, which burnt down in 1934. It is currently used by the cutler Knut Dahl.
The mighty blast furnace was located approx. where there is a parking lot today. It was key to the production of pig iron for centuries. The furnace burned continously for years at the time, and consumed an incredible amount of charcoal.
Illustration: Marianne Karlsen
