Johann Wülfing & Sohn-Museum

Description

The Wülfing Museum documents the technical and social development of textile production on the site of the former cloth factory “Johann Wülfing & Sohn” in Radevormwald-Dahlerau in the Oberbergischen Kreis, North Rhine-Westphalia.

The factory complex grew out of a business founded in 1674 in Lennep and relocated around 1806 to the Wupper at Dahlerau because of the Napoleonic Continental Blockade, where favourable sites for waterwheels were found. During industrialisation the site expanded continuously; water power was gradually supplemented by steam engines and modern run-of-river hydroelectric plants. The ensemble includes a factory building from 1838 which, until the company’s insolvency, was regarded as one of the oldest factory buildings in operation in Germany. Around the factory a self-contained settlement developed with company housing and facilities such as shops, a post office, a railway station, a kindergarten and a bathing establishment.

Until production was shut down in 1996, high-quality woollen cloths made from combed yarns blended with synthetic fibres were manufactured. The company processed materials from their raw state to finished men’s clothing patterns. The operation was based on an extensive archive and an in-house sample weaving department with about 1,000 fabric samples; customers selected roughly 200 seasonal patterns from these for large-scale production. Surplus or no longer required suits were sold directly from the factory to end customers.

Early electric lighting was introduced because of the fire risk; for this purpose the factory generated electricity with water turbines and steam engines connected to generators. Surpluses of three-phase current of up to 140 kW at 5,000 volts were fed into the then-developing grid, which at times belonged to the company. A generator from 1903 served the company’s own needs until 1946 and remains in its original location; it can be driven for demonstration purposes. Also present is a modernised Francis turbine from 1922 with approximately 250 kW output.

The museum preserves numerous pieces of factory equipment: a horizontal compound steam engine from 1891, which was in operation until 1961 and delivered mechanical power via transmissions; machines for textile production; a quality assurance laboratory; and two Jacquard looms from the sample weaving department, each about 80 years old and controlled by punched cards. The neighbouring, still-operational run-of-river power station from 1922 is also accessible. The institution is supported by former company employees, now retired, who carry on the tradition.

On the extended site information panels explain the history of the “textile town”; a mixed commercial park has developed there, including a small spinning mill for special textiles. Dahlerau and the Wülfing Museum are part of the “Bergischer Ring” route.