Historische Hammerschmiede

Right beside the Blautopf spring in Blaubeuren, the Historische Hammerschmiede keeps a water-powered forge running. Water from the spring turns a large waterwheel, and the wheel drives two forging hammers, a grinding machine and the bellows.

The building began as a grinding mill and became a hammer forge in 1804. It forged iron and steel until 1948, and restoration since 1966 has the machinery in working order. Demonstrations trace how that power moves through shafts and levers into the heavy hammers. The interior looks much as it once did, with an anvil, tongs and the blacksmith's traditional tools. Displays explain the products once made here and the part smiths played in town life.

If you want to try the trade yourself, the museum runs courses from a one-day introduction to a two-day workshop. You can even forge your own knife blade, heating the metal and hammering out the shape. For centuries water ranked with muscle and wind among the main sources of power, long before electricity arrived. Outside, you can watch and hear the Blautopf water at work, the current that powers the machinery.