A small place. Of great stories. And history.

ASSIST excursion to Königsbronn on July 5, 2025

The excursion began with a walk along Lake Itzelberg, where we saw a family of swans in the wild. From the coldwater lake, the group continued to the source of the Brenz River, known as the “Brenztopf,” where the water emerges at a temperature of 7° Celsius from an underground cave in the Swabian Alb. Right next to „Brenztopf“ the group could admire the historic Rococo façade of the town hall and an old hammer mill, which today houses event rooms and a small hydropower plant. Since the day was sunny and summery hot, the biggest attraction at the source of the Brenz was the Kneipp facility where our students cooled down a bit.

Königsbronn – Germany’s oldest industrial location. The origins of the ironworks industry in Germany were not in the Ruhr region, but on the Swabian Alb.

Since the late Middle Ages, bean ore has been processed into iron in Königsbronn. The fuel for smelting was supplied by the beech forests of the region. In the museum of the flame furnace foundry, the group gained an impression of how furnaces, bells, and cannons were cast in Königsbronn for centuries since 1650.

The tour was rounded off by a second industrial museum, an old file grinding shop and a stopover at a Memorial plaque for Georg Elser. Both museums have been restored over many years by volunteer members of the Königsbronn Cultural Association, as has the small private brewery with its beer garden, where the group ended the excursion with a cool drink.