fountain of the kings’ hut with (from the right) machine factory and iron magazine in the background  (foto from: Gudrun Grzyb)

We, the members of the board and advisory board of the support circle Kings’ hut (Koenigshuette) Bad Lauterberg registered association wish you all a Merry Christmas and all the best for 2024.

The year that is drawing to a close had its ups and downs for our association. One of the highlights was the 40th anniversary celebration of the support circle on November 4, which involved a lot of voluntary work, donations from the Bad Lauterberg business community and also from our members made the celebration a success. The celebration took place in the spa hall in Bad Lauterberg and we were able to welcome almost 100 people. The two presentations - on the history of the Koenigshuette and the support circle and on iron ore mining in the Lauterberg mining district - were very well received and met with great interest. The two lectures can be read in a commemorative publication. We reported on the festive event.

The regulars' table - every first Thursday of the month - is very popular, unfortunately non-members rarely attend.

Our guided tours went well. We have received positive feedback. There were 60 guided tours up to the end of October, with 814 visitors. The International Museum Day in May and the Open Monument Day in September 2023 were also very well attended. We had glorious weather on both days, which contributed to the success of the events. In addition, the show casting and the stands with craftsmen attracted a great deal of interest. A number of children and young people also took part in the information-rally or searched for and found the lost magic ring with the ‘Brockenbande’, a group of girls and boys and a tame raven who help children to solve riddles in a lot of cities.

The renovation of the machine factory is also progressing, the funding has been approved, the building application has been granted and discussions are currently underway with our architect and structural engineer.

The number of members is falling slightly, but with two fewer members than a year ago, it is manageable. Several members have left for reasons of age.

Now our association year comes to an end. We look to the future with optimism, and we hope that many visitors will continue to come to the kings’ hut (Koenigshuette) industrial monument in 2024. The first registrations for special guided tours have already been received for the coming year.

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south harz ironworks museum on december 20th, 2023       (foto from Klaus Wolf, member of the support circle)