World Heritage Site Völklinger Hütte – an icon of industrial culture

TEXT: WELTKULTURERBE VÖLKLINGER HÜTTE / MARILENA STRACKE

The World Heritage Site Völklinger Hütte is the world’s only fully intact ironworks from the zenith of the industrial era and the first industrial monument from this period to be added to the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The sustainable development of the World Heritage Site and the various activities presented in this remarkably atmospheric space rest upon five thematic pillars: industry, culture, history, art and nature.

The Völklingen Ironworks provides a prime example of the era of peak industrialisation and the Anthropocene, the age dominated by human activity. The former production facilities for pig iron are preserved in their entirety.

Nick Veasey, Poker, 2020. Photo: Nick Veasey

Today, with its many halls, open spaces and fascinating networks of pipes, the World Heritage Site offers a unique setting for international exhibitions, festivals and concerts. What is more, it is a place where culture and nature meet: what was once considered the hell of the coking plant, for example, is now a truly wild PARADISE, where new ecosystems have taken root.

King Kong in the PARADISE around the former coking plant. Photo: Ralf Beil

X-RAY. The Power of Roentgen Vision (running until 16 August 2026) is the first exhibition ever to comprehensively dedicate itself to the phenomenon of X-rays and the numerous cultural and artistic aspects of X-ray vision. Based on the wide spectrum of X-ray technology – from the very first X-ray image to historic X-ray devices in medicine and the natural sciences, and up to the latest X-ray satellite in space research – the exhibition particularly highlights the creative interplay of the X-ray gaze in art and cultural history, politics, nature, literature and architecture, music, fashion, and cinema.

X-RAY, exhibition view. Photo: Hans-Georg Merkel / Weltkulturerbe Völklinger Hütte

From 10 May, the World Heritage Site Völklinger Hütte will open the internationally renowned URBAN ART BIENNALE. It presents current positions of the anarchic art form that has evolved from street art and graffiti. Also in May, a video mapping festival will illuminate the World Heritage Site in innovative ways, and in August, a multi-day techno festival will take place. Starting 1 November, the Völklinger Hütte itself will take centre stage: the exhibition ORE ANGEL AND SINTER SUN brings the entire history from 1873 to the present day to life and opens up new perspectives on this unique monument of industrialisation and the Anthropocene.