Sankt Michaelis-Hütte

near Liederner Ringstrasse 4–6, 46399 Bocholt/Liedern
GPX: 51.84790865158477, 6.552923268787502

A blast furnace/iron foundry was already established on the Bocholter Aa in as early as 1729; one of the first in Westphalia—the Michaelis Hütte. A weir in the river created the slope that allowed the water wheel to turn. The Bocholter Aa is a tributary of the Oude IJssel and flows into the Oude IJssel in Ulft under the name Aa-Strang.

It became a small community in the countryside with a few workers' houses and a chapel. Like the other 18th century foundries, cannonballs, types of hearth plates ('Herdplatten, Ofenplatten, Takenplatten'), pots, and the like formed the bulk of the early products.

In 1754 it was the model for the Ulftsche Yserhut (the current DRU). The initiators invited the ironmaster of the Michaelis Hütte to Ulft to design the forge to be erected there.

The Michaelis Hütte never really became big. Around 1760, it was leased by the gentlemen Diepenbrock and Reigers from Bocholt, who also leased the Ulftse IJzerhut in 1772. They managed to run both companies well, but in 1811 they stopped renting the Michaelis Hütte and moved the machinery and tools to Ulft.

In 1833, the buildings were leased by the Isselburger Hütte, which operated it as a branch office, but they too withdrew from the business in 1860.

The water wheel in the Bocholter Aa continued to function for a long time, first as a corn mill and later as a sawmill. Until a few years ago, the site was still used as a historic machine sawmill, a nostalgic one-person operation.

The hamlet is colloquially still called "Eisenhütte" or "Iserhut".

Places of interest in the area
Near the Michaelis Hütte:

Bäckerei Lensing Eisenhütte, Sporker Ringstraße 2 - Bocholt

Enjoy a delicious coffee with cake or a tasty sandwich, highly recommended! This bakery bears the name of the iron hut.

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