List of preserved historic blast furnaces
City Name of location Current purpose , preserved installations and public attractions
Völklingen , Saarland The Völklingen Ironworks ( German : Völklinger Hütte ) , decommissioned in 1986 One of the major iron works in Germany , consisting of 6 blast furnaces , the only one surviving WW-II without severe damage . In 1994 , it was declared by UNESCO as a World Heritage site . Today , the Völklingen Ironworks is a museum . The Ferrodrom is an interactive science center focusing on the making of iron . Visitors can tour the production areas , including the 'Gebläse Halle ' containing huge blowers dating from the first decade of the 20th century . In addition , temporary exhibits on a variety of topics are hosted in the large power halls
Between Grünebach and Alsdorf , Rhineland-Palatinate Neugrünebacher Hütte ( decommissioned in 1963 ) The historic blast furnace has been put under monument conservation in 1983
Wenden , Sauerland , North Rhine-Westphalia Wendener Hütte ( decommissioned in 1866 ) The casthouse , which contains the blast furnace , is now a museum
Balve , Sauerland , North Rhine-Westphalia Luisenhütte Wocklum ( decommissioned in 1865 ) The casthouse , which contains the oldest completely preserved blast furnace in Germany , was declared a technical cultural monument 1950 . Following an extensive two-year renovation , it was reopened as a museum in 2006
Bockenem -Bornum , Ambergau , Lower Saxony Wilhelmshütte ( decommissioned in 1966 , opened to the public in 1982 ) The historic blast furnace ( built in 1783 ) is now a museum
List of preserved historic pre-mass production blast furnaces around the world -- Germany
This list of preserved historic blast furnaces contains decommissioned blast furnaces, of which substantial remains survive. The furnaces are preserved in a park or museum, or as a site otherwise open to visitors, or intended to become such. While pre-20th-century blast furnaces already have a long history of monument preservation, the perception of 20th century mass production blast furnace installations as industrial heritage is a comparably new trend. For a long time, it has been normal procedure for such a blast furnace to be demolished after being decommissioned and either be replaced with a newer, improved one, or to have the entire site demolished to make room for follow-up use of the area. It has only been in recent years that numerous countries have realized the value of blast furnaces as a part of their industrial history. Historically, the first such blast furnace not to be demolished stands in Starachowice, Poland (decommissioned in 1968), followed by the last blast furnace of Yahata Steel Works in Yahatahigashi-ku, Kitakyūshū, Japan (decommissioned in 1972) and the Carrie Furnaces in Homestead, Pennsylvania in the United States (decommissioned in 1978). One of the two blast furnaces in Neunkirchen in Germany (decommissioned in 1982) was the first blast furnace worldwide to be not just preserved, but actively refurbished for the purpose of preservation. For 20th-century mass production blast furnaces, the degree of accurate preservation versus integration into new structures, or even re-purposing, differs between the various sites. Colorful illumination installations at night are common.