Kirchmöser powder factory

​ From 1914 the royal Prussian powder factory was built in Kirchmöser near Brandenburg / Havel with 400 factory buildings and an additional 172 apartments. As early as 1915, 6,000 people were working here. Villas for officers and civil servants were built in the area. In 1916 the 65 m high water tower and the Kirchmöser train station were put into operation. In 1919 it was all over again. As stipulated in the Versailles Treaty, the powder factory and the fireworks laboratory had to be liquidated immediately. From 1919 the Deutsche Reichsbahn took over the plant and created the Brandenburg / West railway plant. The main task was the maintenance and servicing of locomotives, as well as the production of tracks. The Reichsbahnzentralschule moved into the separately located fireworks laboratory. On the orders of the Wehrmacht, the entire locomotive plant was dismantled in 1942 and transported to the Ukraine, but was never installed there. By 1945, the factory was converted into the production of tanks and tank parts. After the war, the area was taken over by the Red Army. All production facilities were dismantled and brought to the Soviet Union by September 1945. From 1946 the Red Army used half of the plant as a tank repair plant and as barracks. In the other half the "Reichsbahnausbesserungswerk Brandenburg / West" resumes its service. In the years that followed, the buildings housed a number of other companies, including a switch factory, part of the Brandenburg rolling mill, a foundry, a branch of the Rathenow furniture factory and a gardening shop. The Soviet army remained in the buildings of the former fireworks laboratory and locomotive factory and operated an armored factory here until 1992. The buildings are currently used by 27 different authorities and companies, around 15% of the factory buildings are empty. The characteristics of the entire factory site - including numerous original building details - have been handed down in full, hardly any new buildings have been added, and only a few buildings have been demolished or disfigured by renovations. Overall, one of the main examples of industrial construction in the late imperial era in the state of Brandenburg.

The predominantly accessible area should be explored by car or bicycle. It is best to start at the north gate, which is the entrance to the site when coming from Brandenburg. An industrial educational trail is laid out. Many distinctive buildings are signposted and explained. It is also worth visiting the beautifully renovated, listed forest settlement of Kirchmöser-Ost from the 1920s.