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.
Historic pre-mass production
Australia City and state Name of location Current purpose, preserved installations and public attractions Photo Official websiteLal Lal, VictoriaLal Lal Iron Company Furnace built in 1880, operated until 1884. Now part of the Lal Lal-Bungal Historic Area.Parks VictoriaBeaconsfield, TasmaniaIlfracombe Iron CompanyFurnace built in 1873, abandoned from 1874. The furnace ruin exists on private property.NoneBookham, New South WalesBogolong iron mine and blast furnace Furnace built in 1873–1874, operated briefly in 1874. The blast furnace ruin exists on private property but is partially visible from public land adjoining Ilalong Road.NSW Heritage Database
Austria City Name of location Current purpose, preserved installations and public attractions Photo Official websiteThomatal, Tamsweg, Salzburg Bergbaumuseum Hochofen Bundschuh (decommissioned in 1903, opened to the public in 1984) The blast furnace (built in 1867) is now a museum.
Brazil City Name of location Current purpose, preserved installations and public attractions Photo Official websiteIpanema, Iperó, Sao Paulo Fábrica de Ferro de São João do Ipanema (decommissioned in 1926, opened to the public in 1994) Three blast furnaces, two built in 1817 and one in 1884, are now with Floresta Nacional de Ipanema.
Finland City Name of location Current purpose, preserved installations and public attractions Photo Official websiteKarkkila Högforsin ruukki Blast furnace built 1820-1822. Decommissioned in 1916 Museovirasto
Germany City Name of location Current purpose, preserved installations and public attractions Photo Official websiteBetween 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.
Norway City Name of location Current purpose, preserved installations and public attractions Photo Official website Holt, Tvedestrand, Agder Næs jernverk was in operation until 1959, when the waterworks were destroyed by a flood. Næs jernverk is a museum since 1977 and guided tours of the ironworks and the blast furnace are provided for visitors.
Poland City Name of location Current purpose, preserved installations and public attractions Photo Official website Chlewiska, Gmina Chlewiska, Szydłowiec County, Mazowieckie Voivodeship Iron Works in Chlewiska (built between 1882 and 1892, decommissioned in 1940) Chlewiska Iron Works is now part of the Museum of Technology and is opened for tourists. Kuźniaki, Gmina Strawczyn, Kielce County, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship Metallurgical Furnace in Kuźniaki (decommissioned in 1897) The casthouse, which contains the blast furnace, has been declared a historical monument and is open to visitors. Samsonów, Gmina Zagnańsk, Kielce County, Świętokrzyskie VoivodeshipHuta Józef (decommissioned in 1866)Installation was declared as a historical monument in 1967 and opened to visitors in 1983.
Romania City Name of location Current purpose, preserved installations and public attractions Photo Official website Govăjdia, Hunedoara County Blast Furnace in Govăjdia built between 1806 and 1810 on the site of an old iron working workshop called "Old Limpert", the furnace's capacity is 43,9 cubic meters and it operated with charcoal brought from Vadu Dobrii and the iron ore mined and brought from the iron ore mines at Ghelari via narrow-gauge railway. It was decommissioned in 1924 after the start of the ironworks at Hunedoara in 1884. This blast furnace is famous for providing iron for the steel of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, Some of the iron parts for the tower were made here. The casthouse, which contains the blast furnace, has been declared a historical monument since 2000 and is open to visitors since 2007
Slovakia County Name of location Current purpose, preserved installations and public attractions Photo Official website Zvolen, near village Osrblie Tri vody (Three Waters) The oldest blast furnace in the former Kingdom of Hungary. The blast furnace was built in 1795, and burnt charcoal as fuel. Fire in the 1882 destroyed the manufacture. Casing, which is 8.5 m long, is still preserved. SpišJakubanyJakubany (49°13’02’’N; 20°40’56’’E), Jakubján, Szépesjakobfalva, Jakobsau, Spiš county. The first director of copper smeltery “Nicolaus” in Slovinky near Krompachy Probstner leased and bought after the time primarily exchequer ironworks with Slovak furnace (since 1760) and blast furnace (since 1776) in 1820s. The pig iron was refined in three hearts. The part of the plant was hammer in near Nová Ľubovňa and the rolling mill in Jakubany since 1855. The work became extinct in the 1860s. The blast furnace (inaccessible in consequence of irregular ownerships between state and restitutors at the present time) is in fairish condition.
(Moravčíková et al., 2004; Petrík 2010).
Moravčíková, Ľ., Petrík, J. and Mihok, Ľ. (2004) Analysis of remnants from blast furnace in Jakubany, 18th - 19th centuries. Acta Metallurgica Slovaca. Vol. 10, pp. 672–676.
Petrík, J. (2010) The metallurgy in Spiš county. Carpatica - Karpatika, Vol. 39, Užgorod, UNU, pp. 171–184. SpišKrompachyKrompachy (48°55’18’’N; 20°53’23’’E), Korompa, Krompach, Spiš county. The slag is product of older iron works in locality "Maša". The first blast furnace was built there in 1831. Its owner were noble family Gundelfinger, later Pohornádska Company and since 1900 Rimavsko – Muráňská Company. It built new ironworks with coke blast furnaces and Siemens-Martin steel works on the new site near the railway station. The plant was demolished after 1921. The copper smelter was built in its place in the 1930s. Smelted iron ore was mined in Folkmár, Žakarovce/Klippenberg and Helcmanovce.
Petrík, J. (2010) The metallurgy in Spiš county. Carpatica - Karpatika, Vol. 39, Užgorod, UNU, pp. 171–184.Gemer-Malohont Nižná SlanáNižná Slaná (48°44’20’’N; 20°25’03’’E), Alsósajó, Gemer-Malohont county. The slag is product of blast furnace blown between 1867 and 1907. The family of Counts Andrássy was the owner of the plant. The smelted iron ore was mined in surroundings - Gompel, mine Manó (Nižná Slaná) and mine Ignác (Gočovo).
Mihok, Ľ., Petrík, J., Štefanča, P. and Hlobil, J. (2009a) Die Eisenhüttenwerke der Familie Andrássy. Montánna história Vol. 2, Limbach LC s.r.o, pp.208-245. (in Slovak).
Petrík, J., Mihok, Ľ. and Moravčíková, Ľ. (2005c) Charcoal blast furnaces situated in localities by the river Slaná. Proceedings of the 35th Meeting of National Technical Museum - History of metallurgy, Prague, Czech Republic, pp. 111-120. (in Slovak)OravaPodbielPodbiel (49°17’58’’N; 19°30’02’’E), Podbjel, Orava/Arva county. The slag P 291 is product of blast furnace, a part of the ironworks “Františkova Huta“. The furnace was blown in at 1836 and blown out at 1862. The “Oravský Komposesorát”(árvai uradalom, the consortium of landlords, successors of Count Thurzo) was the owner of the plant. The smelted iron ore was mined in surroundings (Oravské hámre, Ústie nad Priehradou).
Mihok, Ľ. and Petrík, J. (2007b) Charcoal furnaces in Podbiel and Píla. Proceedings of the 37th Meeting of National Technical Museum - History of metallurgy, Prague, Czech republic, pp. 39-46. (in Slovak)
Mihok, Ľ., Petrík, J. and Moravčíková, Ľ. (2009b) Die Holzkohleöfen im Gebiert der nördlichen und nordöstlichen Slowakei. Montánna história Vol. 2, Limbach LC s.r.o, pp.298-314. (in Slovak).Gemer-MalohontSirk, local part ČerveňanySirk, local part Červeňany (48°36’15.09’’N; 20°06’31.54’’E) Szirk, Gemer-malohont county. Blast furnace owned by Hrlicko – tapolcsánska company was in operation between 1871 and 1903. The shaft of the furnace, blown out in 1903 was renovated in 1970s. Sources of iron ore are Železník, Sirk, Rákoš and Nandráž.
Petrík, J., Mihok, Ľ. and Fröhlich, L. (2002a): The production of iron in Červeňany and Tri Vody. Proceedings of the 31st Meeting of National Technical Museum - History of metallurgy, Prague, Czech republic, pp. 35-39. (in Slovak) Gemer-MalohontVlachovoVlachovo (48°47’48’’N; 20°23’05’’E), Oláhpatak, Gemer-malohont county. The slag is product of blast furnace blown in at 1843 and blown out at 1907. The shaft of the furace exists on the present. The family of Counts Andrássy was the owner of the plant. The smelted iron ore was mined in Dobšiná, Mlynky, Rejdová (Romolová and Radzim - Kupferberg).
(Petrík et al., 2005c; Mihok et al., 2009a).
Petrík, J., Mihok, Ľ. and Moravčíková, Ľ. (2005c) Charcoal blast furnaces situated in localities by the river Slaná. Proceedings of the 35th Meeting of National Technical Museum - History of metallurgy, Prague, Czech Republic, pp. 111-120. (in Slovak)
Mihok, Ľ., Petrík, J., Štefanča, P. and Hlobil, J. (2009a) Die Eisenhüttenwerke der Familie Andrássy. Montánna história Vol. 2, Limbach LC s.r.o, pp.208-245. (in Slovak).ZemplínZemplínske HámreZemplínske Hámre (48°56’58.25’’ N; 22°09’18.89’’ E), Josefsthal, until 1960 part of the town Snina, Szinna, Zemplín/Zemplén county. Noble family Rholl von Udvarnok and Count Csaky established ironworks with the blast furnace in 1815. The blast furnace was blown – out in 1873. Only crucible of the original furnace can be seen at the present time. The model of the furnace was built in conformity with documentation in 2015. The ore, smelted in the plant was mined in Zamutov and Hermanovce (Petrík et al., 2002b; Petrík et al., 2002c; Mihok et al., 2009b).
Petrík, J. and Mihok, Ľ. (2002b): The archaeometallurgical analysis of the slags from extinct blast furnace plants. Carpatica – Karpatika, Vol. 15, Užgorod, UNU, pp. 250-260.