Moss Jernverk ("Moss Ironworks") was an ironwork in Moss, Norway. Established in 1704, it was, for many years, the largest workplace in the city, and melted ore, chiefly from Arendalsfeltet (a geologic province in Norway). With power from the nearby waterfalls it manufactured many different products. From around the middle of the 18th century, the works were the leading armory in the country and produced hundreds of heavy iron cannons. The first rolling mill in Norway was also located here.
Amongst Moss Jernverk's owners were many of Norway's best-known businessmen, including Bernt Anker and Herman Wedel-Jarlsberg. Under Anker's management it became a much visited attraction for early travellers to Norway. The administration building is best known for being the site where the Convention of Moss was negotiated in August 1814.
In the middle of the 19th century Moss Ironworks met increased competition from Swedish and English ironworks; consequently it closed down in 1873. It was sold for 115,000 speciedaler in 1875 and the area was taken over by the company M. Peterson & Søn, which used it until it went bankrupt in 2012.
Background and establishment
Iron has been extracted and processed in what today is known as Norway for over two thousand years.Fra jernverkenes historie i Norge, p. 13 The first iron producers used Bog iron, which then was processed by what Norwegians know as "jernvinne". Such production of iron was however local and on a small scale – much effort was needed to extract small quantities of iron.
In the 16th century the interest for excavating ore grew in Europe and the foundation for modern knowledge of mineralogy was established by the German Georgius Agricola.Fra jernverkenes historie i Norge, p. 28 In the kingdom of Denmark-Norway iron ore was found in the Norwegian part of the country. In the southern part of Norway the richest deposits were in the Arendalsfeltet around the city of Arendal; however, owing to the need for large amounts of wood to produce charcoal for the blast furnace and power from water falls for powering the bellows, ironworks were often established at other places than close to the iron ore mines. "It was actually over time the supply of charcoal - the woods - that were decisive for development of ironworks. Already from early times there was a decentralization at many works in order to use the woods best and cheapest.", from Fra jernverkenes historie i Norge, p. 57 By the city of Moss there was easy access to power from waterfalls; there were large woods in the vicinity and the location by the Oslofjord made receiving ore and shipping out the various produced goods easy.
The Danish civil servant and businessman Ernst Ulrich Dose started in 1704 with establishing an ironwork at Moss,Moss Jernverk, p. 22 and in the same year the Dano-Norwegian king Frederick IV visited Moss twice,Moss Jernverk, p. 20 events that were positive for Dose's undertakings. In addition to buying land and claiming rights to power from the waterfalls and access iron ore, the projected ironworks received "cirkumferens", an area with a radius of around 25 kilometer where the farmers had to produce and deliver charcoal and other raw material to the ironworks. In November 1704 Moss and its surroundings were inspected by experts from the oberbergamt (the state authority responsible for mines and minerals) in Kongsberg and a letter of privilege was issued on 6 December that year. In the letter various privileges were stated; for the surrounding woods, area for the ironworks, water, access by road, iron ore, freedom from customs and several other points.
Workers were exempted from taxes and military service; they were to be tried by "bergretten" (a special court for miners, residing in Kongsberg), and if needed skilled workers could be recruited from abroad, regardless of what nation they belonged to."Master craftsmen and artisans that must be recruited from abroad for building and running the ironworks shall without hindrance be allowed into the country with their people and their belongings, regardless of what nation they belong to. Equally free they shall be allowed to leave after lawful discharge.", from Moss Jernverk, p. 31 By its extensive royal privileges Moss Ironworks, when it was established, was close to being a state within the state."The mining and melting enterprises with its mines, blast furnaces, forges and its cirkumferens (area where farmers were imposed supplying charcoal), were as half sovereign enclaves in the pre-industrial Norway, where free farmers were morphed into forced laborers and forced suppliers to the ironworks.", p. 277, Knut Mykland, Norges historie, vol. 7, Cappelens forlag, Oslo 1977
Dying in 1706, the prosperous Ernst Ulrich Dose did not live to see Moss Ironworks in full operation.
First years and war
After Ernst Ulrich Dose's death Moss Jernverk was auctioned off and in May 1708 sold to Jacob von Hübsch (3/4) and Henrich Ochsen (1/4).Moss Jernverk, p. 33 The timing was good, war was close and the ironworks was close to the three large fortresses in the south-eastern part of Norway: Akershus, Fredrikstad and Fredriksten. Hübsch stated in 1713 that he bought the unfinished ironworks to supply the armed forces with cannons, ammunition and rifles. War broke out in 1709 and in 1711 there was an attack into Sweden, supplied by Moss Jernverk with ammunition, cannonballs in iron. The campaign was short, without any use of ammunition and Hübsch had severe difficulties with the payment.Moss Jernverk, p. 35
One of the privileges Moss Jernverk received when it was established was exemption from Tithe for three years after the blast furnace was in continuous use. The work to re-establish the tithing was commissioned at Kongsberg in 1712 by the generalkrigskommissær H. C. von Platen (the civil servant responsible for defence matters), but owing to lack of charcoal the blast furnace was only working for shorter periods."The main reason for the late start of the ironworks, was the lack of charcoal, which would place a heavy burden on it in the future. Charcoal had to be collected for 2-3 years to run the blast furnace for 9-10 months, the oberbergamt (the state authority responsible for mines and smelters) could witness in 1714.", Moss Jernverk, p. 36 The local farmers were bound to supply 4733 lester (one lest was around 2 m³) charcoal every year, but in 1714 the ironworks lacked 24,600 lester. The duty to deliver charcoal was quite clearly an extra tax and the farmers tried to avoid it."Both during the Great Northern War and during the 1760s the protests was aimed at the extra taxes. Protests aimed at other public impositions, as production and supply of coal and transporting various products to the ironworks, are related to the tax protests. The peasantry reacted to all instances of raised duties or reduced prices.", from «Opprør eller legitim politisk praksis?» Owing to the initial production problems the ironworks was given the exemption until 1715.
At the latter stage of the Great Northern War Norway was invaded in 1716; the city of Moss and the ironworks were taken by Swedish forces on 17 March. On 26 March the Swedish forces were expelled, but the day after the Swedes again took possession of the city and held it for five weeks, and the ironworks was looted. The war years were difficult for the ironworks: in addition to looting the farmers were busy with transporting goods for the forces and had little time for producing and delivering charcoal. While the other Norwegian ironworks made good money from the war, Moss Jernverk and its main owner Hübsch fared badly."There is a very reliable statement that show that the ironworks blast furnace was not in use more than 5,5 years of the 15 years from 1709 to 1723, so the difficulties were huge.", Moss Jernverk, p. 39 Owing to the various difficulties Hübsch petitioned the king for additional years with the exemption and was granted until 1722, from 1723 Moss Jernverk had to pay 300 riksdaler and from 1724 the same as other Norwegian ironworks, which amounted to 400 riksdaler each year.
Post-war years and change of ownership Jacob von Hübsch died in October 1724 and his widow, Elisabeth Hübsch (née Holst) took over, a heavy burden for a single woman with seven children. In order to better supervise the business she moved with her children from Copenhagen to Moss. The competition from cheap Swedish iron was devastating and many Norwegian ironworks closed down their production.Moss Jernverk, p. 41 Elisabeth Hübsch had to take large loans to run Moss Jernverk and her creditors became aggressive. Even though Norwegian ironworks enjoyed a monopoly in exporting iron to Denmark from 1730, the economy of Moss Jernverk was still strained.Moss Jernverk, p. 42
The ironworks minority owner, the civil servant Henrich Ochsen, repeatedly had to cover various expenses, but in 1738 his patience with the widow ended. Henrich Ochsen sent his attorney Jens Bondorph from Copenhagen to take control over the business. Elisabeth Hübsch tried her best to fight back and in the court archives about the case the situation and the debt of the business is well covered.Moss Jernverk, p. 42-50 On 21 January 1739 the oberbergamt on Kongsberg ruled that Jens Bondorph was given the right to control the part of Moss Jernverk that belonged to the widow, until the case was settled. After several years of court proceedings Moss Jernverk was auctioned off and Henrich Ochsen took control of the whole business.Moss Jernverk, p. 50
Raw materials, the ironworks and the products
An ironworks in the 18th century was capital intensive heavy industry of great importance for the country and there were several challenges to achieve a satisfying production. At the court proceedings in 1738 it was recorded what Moss Jernverk had of assets and together with supervisor Knud Wendelboe's report it gives a good overview of the business. In the sections below the various activities at the premises are described, from the establishment in 1704 to the close-down in 1874.
Iron ore The mines that, owing to Moss Jernverk's privileges, were obliged to deliver iron ore, could not supply sufficient amount, so in 1706 the manager Peter Windt secured that Løvold mine at Arendal should deliver 1,000 barrels iron ore each year. The quality of the iron ore was so mixed that there were court proceedings, resulting in the requirement that two knowledgeable miners should control the quality of the iron ore. The mines around Arendal were the most important for the Norwegian ironworks, as they delivered around 2/3 of all iron ore."The mines in Arendalsfeltet did without doubt play the most important role, as those mines, as we in the following shall describe, delivered around two-thirds of all the iron ore the ironworks consumed.", p. 28, J.H.L. Vogt, De gamle norske jernverk Even though the most important mines were located some distance from the ironworks, the transport was not expensive, as the iron ore was sent by boat."The ironworks were located besides waterfalls in areas with woods or charcoal, and usually quite far away from the mines, the iron ore transport were for the most ironworks quite cheap, as it mostly were by ships, on small sailing boats or sloops.", p. 28, De gamle norske jernverk
In a 1723 report from Moss Jernverk the manager Knud Wendelboe wrote that they had to collect iron ore for 2–3 years to have one production period.Moss Jernverk, p. 55 In 1736 the entity had some minor mines around Moss and the larger mines at Østre Buøy, Vestre Buøy, Langsæ and Bråstad in Agder, part of the Arendalsfeltet, supplying iron ore. The management at that time was however not vigilant enough in seeing that the mines supplied iron ore of the quality needed.Moss Jernverk, p. 55