iron grave cross for Dr. Ritscher

The Executive Board and Advisory Board of the support group Kings’ Hut ( Koenigshuette) wish all readers of our website

                                                          a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year 2026

Because of the approaching end of this year,we would like to take the opportunity to look back on important events relating to the support group. This year's general meeting took place on 5 April, as usual at our member's hotel/restaurant Riemann in Bad Lauterberg. 25 members found their way to Bad Lauterberg.

As every year, the members' meeting began with a public lecture. This year, Mr Hillegeist reported - as a farewell gift, so to speak - on historical Harz ironworks. These were the Kings’ Hut (Koenigshuette), the Rothehütte (today located in the village Koenigshuette, which is part of the town “Oberharz am Brocken”), the Lerbach-hut (Lerbach: district of Osterode/Harz), the Sollingen hut (in the town of Uslar) and the Harz-ironworks in the villages Ruebeland and Zorge. Everyone present was very impressed by the presentation. Enthusiastic applause was the thank you for the successful presentation.

An important point of the general meeting was the elections, which are held every two years. This year it was that time again.

Mr Hillegeist had already announced in advance that he would no longer be standing for election. There were also changes to the position of secretary and a new composition of the advisory board.

During the election, it was suggested that Mr Hillegeist be offered the position of Honorary Chairman. This suggestion was very well received by those present, but also by Mr Hillegeist, and Mr Hillegeist accepted the election as Honorary Chairman.

Mr Hillegeist had already pointed out in 2023 that the cast-iron grave cross of Dr Benjamin Ritscher, which stands in the Bad Lauterberg cemetery below the cemetery chapel, was in great need of restoration. - Dr Benjamin Ritscher (1803 - 1859) was a doctor and opened a cold-water spa in Bad Lauterberg in 1839. (Note: Sebastian Kneipp, who is now much better known nationwide for his water treatments, did not carry out his first treatments until 1850, but was not a doctor).  An appeal for donations was successfully launched for the restoration of Dr Benjamin Ritscher's grave cross, and the grave cross was restored. The grave cross was reinstalled in the week before Christmas. The board and advisory board of the support group would like to thank Mr Haase and his employees from Metallbau (metal construction) Haase for their excellent work. The board and advisory board would also like to thank all those who supported us so generously and kindly with donations. Now the cast iron grave cross shines again in new splendour, and the lettering has also been reapplied in golden letters - not so easy, as the former raised lettering had almost weathered away.

Another highlight was the purchase of medals cast at the kings’ hut (Koenigshuette), which were also available thanks to a donation - in this case from our honorary chairman Mr. Hillegeist.

The guided tours that we offered this year were very well attended. 35 regular tours were offered, plus 17 special tours. Special thanks also go to the volunteer guides from the ranks of our members. The final number of visitors has not yet been evaluated, but up to the Open Monument Day, including the Open Monument Day, 309 people attended the public tours, and 173 people attended the special tours up to this date (14 September).  Two guided tours took place on each of the two special days, International Museum Day and Open Monument Day. - The Board of Directors would like to thank all the helpers who contributed to the smooth running of these days and made them a wonderful experience for visitors.

However, as everywhere else, this year was not all positive for the support group. The restoration of the machine factory has come to a standstill, and the reasons and causes are manifold. But I won't go into them in detail here. One positive event in this context was the visit by the Göttingen CDU district parliamentary group. Its members were given a guided tour of the kings’ hut (Koenigshuette) industrial monument, focussing on the machine factory. It is not yet clear whether there will be a donation in this direction in addition to the donation for the guided tour.

This meeting was organised by our association member and CDU district councillor Mr. Hans Otto Arnold. In addition to raising funds for the renovation, the group also wanted to see how the use of the industrial monument as a museum could be promoted. This is because the site is currently designated as an industrial area and is only used as a museum. The owner of the industrial monument is also involved here.  The coming year will have to show what happens next.

With this in mind, once again

                                                         Merry Christmas and all the best for 2026

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The Volunteer Day was proclaimed by the United Nations (UN) in 1985 as International Volunteer Day. The aim of this Global Day of Action is to recognise the commitment of volunteers and motivate even more people to get involved.

The official date worldwide is  December 5th. This year's motto is ‘Every contribution counts’.

Many communities have included this ‘Volunteer Day’ in their programme and celebrate it at different times. In Bad Lauterberg, for example, members of the support group have been invited to attend this day several times in recent years. The federal states also invite individuals, groups and associations to the Volunteer Day to honour the volunteers.

The event took place in Hanover on  November 22th and was organised by the state government, the savings banks of Lower Saxony and the VGH Insurance. Around 350 people from a wide variety of associations in Lower Saxony were invited to Hanover for the closing event, with 620 individuals, groups and associations applying to attend. This closing event took place in the administrative building of the VGH Insurance and was held under the motto “priceless and voluntary”.

One of the people nominated was Mr. Klaus-Peter Weinreich, who has been maintaining and, when necessary, repairing the machines at the Kings’ hut (Koenigshuette)  machine factory for decades, as well as giving visitors a better understanding of the history of the machine factory during guided tours and even putting one or two of the machines into operation. He was nominated by Mr. Bernd Fuhse, the deputy chairman of our association, the Support Group  of the king’s hut. And... Mr Klaus-Peter Weinreich was invited to the event in Hanover from the large pool of proposed candidates.

As Peter Weinreich has limited mobility, our chairman, Mr. Christian Mühl, offered to accompany him to Hanover, part of the group was Mrs Elisabeth Mühl, our chairman's wife.

Prime Minister Olaf Lies greeted the invited guests, who were seated in the front row, with a handshake upon their arrival. Mr. Klaus-Peter Weinreich was also sitting in the first row, and he was very pleased about this.

A brief aside: Minister President Olav Lies is familiar with the kings’ hut, he had visited it on 8 March 2019 when he was Minister for the Environment.

Eleven groups and associations were honoured, receiving a certificate and a small token of appreciation in the form of € 4,000. A short film was shown about each group's “invaluable and voluntary” work. Unfortunately, the volunteers who were present and selected but did not belong to these eleven groups or associations were not mentioned by name, which made some of them sad, including Peter Weinreich.

The event was hosted by Mrs Christina von Saß. Many people probably know her from the NDR program  ‘Hello lower saxony’ ("Hallo Niedersachsen"). A band provided some lovely entertainment to lighten the mood of the event.

Overall, as Mrs. Mühl told me about this event, it was a successful event that the participants of our support group will surely remember for a long time to come.

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Mr. Christian Muehl - left - and Mr. Klaus-Peter Weinreich - right side 

Open Monument Day at the Industrial Monument Koenigshuette  (kings’ hut) in Bad Lauterberg

When the board and advisory board members, the organising team from the support group Koenigshuette (kings’ hut) and his helpers began setting up the exhibition stands  and making preparations at 8 a.m. under cloudy skies, the weather did not look very promising. But to our delight, the weather changed, and we had a sunny late summer's day with autumnal temperatures in the low double digits.

Pastor Mrs. Bethe led the service, which began at 10 a.m., she was accompanied musically by the Bad Sachsa trombone choir. The service was intended to commemorate the former miners who began their working day with a church service. In these services, they prayed for success at work and protection from accidents.

During two guided tours, visitors were able to immerse themselves in the history of the former ironworks and the history of iron smelting in the Harz Mountains, learn a great deal about the buildings of the ensemble, and view exhibits in the South Harz Ironworks Museum that were produced in the ironworks of the Koenigshuette (kings’ hut) and ironworks of that time.

As always, we were able to attract all kinds of artisans, who demonstrated lacemaking, glass art, stag horn carving, kinetic art and model making of steam engines. There were beekeeping products from Mr. Illner from Bad Sachsa, who

 appeared in his usual bee costume and brought along interesting varieties of honey, as well as honey liqueur, beeswax candles, beeswax products for chapped hands and lips, and... lollipops for the children. There were hands-on activities for children, such as making money boxes for themselves and a puzzle rally with the virtual group Brocken Gang, a group of four children and a tame raven.

There were also military vehicles to admire, which had been brought to the kings’ hut for this day. In the late afternoon, one of the vehicles took the children (as well as a few parents as supervisors) on a tour through the city of Bad Lauterberg. Even before the tour, children had been sitting in the military vehicle.

as in previous years the highlight was the demonstration casting, which has long been an integral part of the Open Monument Day and the International Museum Day. It once again attracted a great deal of interest. Since the young, dynamic group from the company ‘Harzer Grauguss’ 2024 took over the demonstration casting, it now begins at 11 a.m. and there are two rounds of demonstration casting. Also on this day, the demonstration casting attracted a large number of spectators, not only children but also adults. As in previous years, the children (and adults) were able to do most of the work by themselves, of cause with the help of the demonstration casters, who only took over the actual casting for everyone. The finished castings were allowed to be taken home. Incidentally, the models are originals from the recent company kings’ hut (Koenigshuette).

Refreshments were also provided, including coffee and cake in the hut tavern. Due to the cool autumn temperatures, the historic cast-iron stove, which was reconnected in 2015, was heated. It was cosy and warm in the hut tavern. Devin K., our youngest member of the support group, did an excellent job of feeding the stove.

In addition, a barbecue was set up in front of the iron store, where steak, bratwurst and currywurst were served, along with a hearty beer, of course.

From early afternoon onwards, Heiko Wiedemann, a well-known figure in Bad Lauterberg, provided musical accompaniment for the event.

Several hundred visitors were counted during the course of the day.

In the hope of repeating this success next year, the day ended at around 5 p.m. to the complete satisfaction of the staff of the support group of the kings’ hut (Koenigshuette).  The volunteers of the support group would like to express their sincere thanks to everyone who contributed to the success of this day.

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Guided tour on the grounds of the Koenigshuette industrial monument, here: in front of the factory building

aerial photo from the industriel monument Koenigshuette (kings' hut)

September 14 is Open Monument Day. This year's motto is:

Valuable: totally unaffordable or irreplaceable

The Koenigshuette (King's Hut) – Support Group is participating again and is opening many doors of the industrial monument.

Perhaps when you visit the Koenigshuette (King's Hut), you will have time and leisure to think about what you can say about the motto in relation to the Koenigshuette (King's Hut). Priceless – does this refer to the monetary value needed to maintain such an industrial monument? Or is it irreplaceable?  In other words, what can this industrial monument tell us that is so important that its preservation should not be questioned? Feel free to share your opinion with us in the hut tavern or the barbecue stand.

The church service, which takes place at 10 a.m. before the opening of the Open Monument Day, ties in with the mining tradition. Before the miners went down into the mine, there was always a church service in which they prayed for intercession for the day, safe working conditions, and rich yields.

From 11 a.m., the volunteer members will be there for visitors, offering coffee and cake after the church service or as a second breakfast. Visitors can take part in guided tours and immerse themselves in the eventful history of this industrial monument.

Exhibitors will demonstrate their crafts, model builders will show off their skills, and the models are replicas of steam engines and other machines that function just like their originals.

Traditionally, Kings’ hut  hosts a glassblowing demonstration, and there are plenty of activities for children. Café hut tavern serves coffee, cake, and cold drinks, and from noon onwards, there is a barbecue in front of the iron warehouse. There is also hearty beer to accompany the steaks, bratwurst, and other fare.

The whole event will be accompanied by music from Heiko Wiedemann, who is well known in and around the city of Bad Lauterberg. 

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