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<\/a><\/p>\nThe establishment of an ironworks<\/strong><\/p>\n Several ironworks were established in Norway in the 17th and 18th century. As Denmark-Norway was fighting Sweden for Nordic supremacy, it became increasingly important to strive for independency from Swedish iron. Iron\u00a0was the main strategic material of its age, as both weapons and ammunition was made from it .<\/p>\n The ironworks had their first golden age ahead of and during “the Great Nordic War”, that broke out in 1700 and lasted 21 years. The decades predating the Napoleonic wars were also good for business. The tight connection between iron and war is illustrated by the fact that the alchymist used the same symbol for denoting iron, maskulinity and Mars, the greek god of war. Vast water power potential, forests and iron ore deposits were conditons that made Norway suitable for the Danish-Norwegian state’ s venture.<\/p>\n The Blast Furnace<\/strong><\/p>\n The blast furnace was the heart of the ironworks, because it was here that the pig iron was produced. Melting iron ore requires a temperature of 1540 degrees Celsius, and the blast furnace was equipped with water-powered bellows to ensure such high temperatures. The\u00a0 ore was first roasted and beaten into smaller pieces and layers of ore and charcoal were placed in the blast furnace. Lime was added if necessary. The blast furnace master used all his senses to determine whether the blend and temperature were right, and an experienced and knowledgeable master was the key to success. Pig iron gathered at the bottom of the furnace, while cinder floated up on top. Pig iron was drained out on the floor of the smelting hut, where it was casted into blocks or open or closed molds. The blast furnace was operating continously for 2-3 years at the time.<\/span><\/p>\n Know-how and technology came from Germany and was transferred orally. It wasn\u2019t until the Royal Mining Academy at Kongsberg was established in 1757 (one of Norway’s first institutions of higher education), that expertize on subjects like metallurgy and mining developed. 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 iron stoves were made at Eidsfoss in 1961.<\/span><\/p>\n When the world came to Eidsfoss<\/strong><\/p>\n Eidsfoss ironworks was established on the kings initiative. He gave the honorable assignment to lieutenant\u00a0general<\/span> Caspar Herman Hausmann (1653\u2013<\/span>1718) in 1697. The successful timber merchant came from the german dutchy of Holstein. The dutchy was in a personal union with Denmark-Norway at the time. Hausmann was half brother to Ulrik Fredrik Gyldenl\u00f8ve, Governor of Norway, Count of Larvik and proprietor of Fritz\u00f8e ironworks.<\/p>\n The first issue in which Hausmann attended, was to secure a deal with Count Wedel-Jarlsberg, in order to take over the right to exploit the natural resources and order nearby farmers to perform work duties, such as the transportation of iron ore and charcoal. It took one year to get the deal in order, but soon Eidsfoss grew to be an active industrial site. A stove plate from 1698 shows 9 different buildings and during the 1700s both the three workers areas Hauane, Br\u00e5tagata and Gata and Eidsfos Manor emerged. After Caspar Hermans death in 1718, his wife Karen Toller ran the ironworks until she died in 1742. Their son Fredrik Ferdinand ran it until 1753, when Hagemann, who also built the stately manor house Gausen in Holmestrand, took over. After Hagemann there were several owners, among them Batholom\u00e6us Rasch and the Deichmann-brothers, until the Cappelen-Family aquisitioned Eidsfoss ironworks in 1795.<\/p>\n Charcoal and Conflicts<\/strong><\/p>\n Norwegian ironworks privileges consisted of several special rights. The ironworks were for example exempt from paying a 10 percent tax called “tiende” (“a tenth”) as well as enlisting soldiers for war duty. Within the circumference (a radius of approx 2.5 miles)\u00a0<\/span>ironworks owners could exploit natural resources and order farmers to produce and transport charcoal and iron ore. The farmers in Vestfold were freeholders and enjoyed a somewhat better economy than most farmers at the time. They complained that the pay didn’t reflect the fact that the transportation took a great toll on men and horses. They also complained about how they were treated when delivering charcoal at the ironworks. <\/span>The farmers had a powerful ally in the Count’s manager, and the struggle between him and Hausmann went on for years. The outcome was that the farmers within the Eidsfoss circumference achieved better conditions than what was the case at most other ironworks. Over time, producing and transporting charcoal nevertheless became an important income for many of the local small-time farmers.<\/p>\n Peder and Marie von Cappelen<\/strong><\/p>\n Drammen resident, timber merchant and grocer Peder von Cappelen acquired\u00a0<\/span>Eidsfoss ironworks in 1795 and ran it until his death in 1837. He simultaneously ran other ironworks and sawmills, in addition to his extensive trade activity. The Cappelen period was a good period for Eidsfoss ironworks. He procured a modern blast furnace and built better roads, and when he bought Kongsberg ironworks in 1824, Eidsfoss became part of a modern industrial value chain that consisted of mines, ironworks and fabrication, as well as woodlands and sawmills. This created virtous cycles for Eidsfoss, who overcame the economic depression that followed the Napoleonic wars better than most Norwegian ironworks.<\/p>\n Peder was married to Christine Marie, and the couple lived with their two daughters at Eidsfos Manor. After her husband died in 1837, Madame Cappelen moved to the city Christianfeld in Denmark, in order to join the Herrnhut Brethren Church, the pietist direction that she and her husband both had sworn allegiance to. The Brethrens had built Christianfeld as a model town, and from here Christine Marie ran the ironworks in companionship with her daughters and sons i law. Christine Marie Cappelen is also reckoned to be Norways first female botanist, and she collected and registered plants that were common to Eidsfoss. It resulted in the hand written flora;\u00a0Wild growing Plants at Eidsfoss and the Surroundings,\u00a0<\/em>which is the first scientific work conducted by a woman in Norway. It created school for later floras and can be found at the botanical museum in Oslo today.<\/p>\n The Tunsberg-Eidsfoss Railway offered new opportunities<\/strong><\/p>\n In the 1870s, Eidsfoss transitioned from an ironworks to an iron foundry, and in 1884 the blast furnace was cleaned out for the last time. As a foundry, Eidsfoss remelted scrap metal in a so-called Cupola furnace instead of producing pig iron from ore in a blast furnace. The company ventured in agricultural machines, casted products such as mullions, picket fences and garden furniture, all popular articles in bourgeois homes, in addition to their popular woodstove models. The railways freight wagons were also produced at Eidsfoss, and the company continued to make railway cars at Sundland in Drammen until 1968. Seven years before, all iron production at Eidsfoss had stopped. A factory that produced metal fabric for the paper industry was established in the old foundry however, and it existed until 1988. Today it is Mar-kem, a company that produces steel tubes for off-shore businesses, that holds Eidsfoss’ industrial traditions alive.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a> <\/a><\/p>\n