CugelVance

Germany - 21-Sep-24 -

Visit: the 19th of septembre 2024.

After a long trip through Hungary and Austria (flood of the century that caused the local  train system to collapse) to visit  my missing world heritage sites there, I stayed overnight -on my way back to Berlin- in the small town of Zwoenitz. The following morning I arrived at the paper mill  shortly before 10.30am and was lucky enough to be able to join a guided group tour with around 20 pensioners. Mister Stoelzel, who has dedicated more than 50 years of his life to the paper mill, personally led a group of pensioners through the still-functioning facility. 

The mill was first mentioned in a document in 1568. With over 400 years the paper mill in Zwoenitz is the oldest of its kind in Europe,producing cardboard until 1973.

The entire process from filling the spherical cooker with waste paper to the usable cardboard is clearly visible by having the visitor walk from one production maschine to the next machine; machines that are still functioning (from the cooker to the mill for fine grinding then to the mill for coarse grinding to the cutting machine and the wetcard board squeezer to  the 2 large upper attic floors, where the cardboard was dried (both cold and with heat).

All information boards are in german, english and czech.
There is a small screening cinema with a film from the 70s that does an excellent job of showing the cardboard manufacturing process at the zwoenitz paper mill.Everything is excellently explained in the museum and an audio guide in both German and English can be downloaded.
Due to the circumstances, I had to do the outside tour after the inside tour. Outside you can see the weir, the mill ditch with the mill wheel and various other machines. There is also a papermaking workshop where paper is made and the historical equipment required for it is stored.

The paper mill, located in the Niederzwoenitz district of the small city of Zwoenitz, is unique of its kind. The entire cardboard manufacturing process can be examined there walking along machines that still work. The museum itself is exemplary: everything is well explained and you learn a lot about the process of making cardboard.
I intend to visit the paper mills (which hopefully match the high standards of Zwoenitz) in the Czech Republic, Poland and in Homburg, Germany, within the next few months.
The production of paper and cardboard was a milestone in human history, so I have no doubt that at least this mill will become a future UNESCO World Heritage Site. And rightfully so! 

PS: dont miss the brewery inn "Zwoenitz". Freshly brewed beer and very delicious german food.One of the best brewery inns I have ever been to in Germany.