Färberei Sittertal (Sittertal dyeing works)

History: The factory and building complex of the former Färberei Sitterthal are dominated by one structural element: the canal. In the first building phase of 1840, this was what made the hydropower of the Sitter useable. The first factory building was built at a right angle to the canal, so that the entire length of the hall could be served directly by one line shaft. All the later buildings and redevelopments followed this pattern – even when the canal had long ceased to be used as a power source. The first enterprise in the Sittertal was a flop: In focosing on linen production, Fridrich Züblin’s flax mill had bet on the past and not the future (cotton). In 1866, Otto Rittmeyer installed a machine embroidery factory in the buildings, which ran until 1890. In 1904, Johann Haeni-Merhart, owner of Burg (Castle) Waldegg and the textile companies by the Burgweiher near Schönenwegen, took over the empty factory in the Sittertal. He had a new bleachery with a line shaft extension, boiler house and tall chimney built (Architect: Josef Kinast). Thus the Färberei Sitterthal AG came into existence. Architecture: Throughout the following decades, further buildings were added or repurposed with the steady rhythm of technical advancement. The existing structures were also continuously used, so that only a few remnants of industrial archaeology of the original 1904 complex remain today. The high-tech textile finishing plant reached its peak around 1970, after which it fell into to economic decline. Present-day use: After the final closure of the factory in 1990, the resulting industrial wasteland was slowly filled with life once more. Bit by bit, new businesses settled there. In addition, new housing was built. Today, the Sittertal is home to over 20 businesses with more than 400 jobs. Notably, these include the architecture office of the owner Hans Jörg Schmid, a large facility of the Dock-Group, a social enterprise working for work integration of the long-term unemployed, the machine factory Spörndli & Seger AG and the art foundry Kunstgiesserei AG of Felix Lehner, with further affiliated cultural enterprises. Since 206, the Stiftung Sitterwerk (Sitterwerk Foundation), is also based in the Sittertal, where it offers an institutional center for culture with its art library, the material archive, the studio building and the Kesselhaus (boiler house) Josephson.