Historic Factory Maste-Barendorf

At the beginning of the 19th century, the Iserlohn businessmen Dunker and Masté founded a factory for the production of copper products to the north of the city, on the Barbach River. The river was used to propel the machines installed at the enterprise: originally it was a rolling mill and an oven for annealing finished products. Over time, a number of additional buildings were built, which housed the factory floor: foundry, soldering and others. So at this place a whole industrial village arose. In addition to needles , the company produced furniture fittings , door handles and candlesticks , which were then exported not only to other cities of the future German Empire , but also to other countries of the world. In 1850, co-owner Dunker left the enterprise, as a result of which the company became fully owned by the Maste family. After the First World War, the factory buildings were sold or leased, and production was stopped.

In the 1960s, the city authorities had the idea to preserve the factory by creating an industrial museum on the basis of the preserved buildings, accessible to the general public. Gradually, the buildings were included in the list of the architectural heritage of the city ​​and purchased by the city administration by 1981. Then, in 1985, the construction of the museum and the restoration of the historical village (“Museums- und Künstlerdorfes”) began: in 1987 a needle museum was created on the territory of the factory, which allowed citizens to get an idea of ​​the city’s most important industrial production in the 19th century. The equipment for the hairpin workshop was also restored.

By the beginning of the 21st century, demonstrations of processes related to the casting of brass parts began to take place in the foundry. The museum also offers excursions for schoolchildren and youth. On its territory children's birthdays are held, as well as weddings are arranged. Some rooms are also used as art workshops: they are also used by prize-winners of competitions held by the local union “Märkischen Kulturkonferenz”. In addition, both the factory itself and the area around it, equipped with bicycle paths , have become a popular resting place for citizens. On the territory of the historical factory operates a cafe . The local Christmas market and rock festival are regularly held here.

• Museum of Crafts and Post History
• Bimberg Distillery
• Jazz club " Henkelmann "
• Villa Wessel
• Bismarck Tower in Iserlohn

• Götz Bettge. Iserlohn-Lexikon / Stadt Iserlohn. - 1. Aufl. - Iserlohn: Hans-Herbert Mönnig Verlag, 1987 .-- 592 S. - ISBN 3-922885-37-3 .

• Die Historische Fabrikanlage Maste-Barendorf (German) . iserlohn.de . Stadt Iserlohn. Date of treatment November 2, 2018.