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All Germany Berlin Schrotkugelturm (Shot Ball Tower)
AO Edited

Schrotkugelturm (Shot Ball Tower)

A century-old shot ball factory tower is open to the public once a year.

Berlin, Germany

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Molly McBride Jacobson
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Schrotkugelturm   Andreas Steinhoff (BLueFiSH.as) on Wikimedia Commons
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About

In 1908 the Juhl & Sons Lead Foundry and Machine Factory (a.k.a. "Bleigießerei und Maschinenfabrik Juhl & Söhne") built the five-story "Schrotkugelturm," or Shot Ball Tower, in Berlin. 

After climbing the 197 steps to the peak of the tower, foundry workers would drop molten lead through a central tube. The draft from the free fall through the open building would cool the lead, molding it into perfectly round shot balls. 

The factory ceased production for good in 1939. The tower would become historically listed, then unlisted (thus unprotected and unkept), and finally listed again. After a renovation in the late '90s, Germany added Shot Ball Tower to its locations for Doors Open Day ("Tag des offenen Denkmals"), during which the public is invited into buildings that are normally closed off.

Related Tags

Shot Towers Machines Technology

Know Before You Go

The nearest S-Bahn station is Rummelsburg, from there is just a short walk up the street.

Community Contributors

Added By

Molly McBride Jacobson

Edited By

hrnick, Meg

  • hrnick
  • Meg

Published

July 25, 2016

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  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shot_Ball_Tower_(Berlin)
Schrotkugelturm (Shot Ball Tower)
Nöldnerstraße 16, 10317
Berlin
Germany
52.50204, 13.47929
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