Voelklingen Ironworks - Völklinger Hütte (Völklingen, Germany)

Mural, Entrance Area, Voelklingen Ironworks

Between Fritz Lang's "Metropolis," a "lost place," and a location brimming with art, surprises, and encounters: the Völklingen Ironworks, a steelworks that operated until 1986, is now a place that offers something new around every corner. A special exhibition on the history of X-rays, a unique atmosphere, the smell of lubricating oil. Some machines look as if they could be switched on immediately, others rust charmingly away. Interspersed throughout are artworks from the permanent collection. I'm still completely fascinated and could have spent days exploring its nooks and crannies. Definitely I will return.

 

(Völklingen Ironworks, Völklingen, Saarland, Germany, February 7th, 2026)

 

Music: "Piano Concerto No. 1" by Béla Bartók, https://youtu.be/YoqQ_NnHwg4?si=aDb7ATAGKZvkUO2B

Website: https://voelklinger-huette.org/

 

 

Tacit Blue in Green (Dietesheimer Steinbrüche/Mühlheim am Main, Germany)

Now Summer is gone

And might never have been.

In the sunshine it’s warm,

But there has to be more.

It all came to pass,

All fell into my hands

Like a five-petalled leaf,

But there has to be more.

 

 

Nothing evil was lost,

Nothing good was in vain,

All ablaze with clear light

But there has to be more.

Life gathered me up

Safe under it’s wing,

My luck always held

But there has to be more.

Not a leaf was burned up

Not a twig ever snapped

Clean as glass is the day

But there has to be more.

 

 

 

"There has to be more..." 

by Arseny Tarkovsky

 

 Series "Tacit Blue in Green"

(Dietesheimer Steinbrüche/Mühlheim am Main, Germany, May 18th, 2026)

 

 

Music: "The Stalker Theme" by Edward Artemiev, 1979

from the movie "Stalker" by Andrey Tarkovsky

 

 

 

 

Heart of Darkness —The Osthofen Concentration Camp

 

The Osthofen concentration camp in Rhineland-Palatinate, not far from Worms, operated from March 1933 to July 1934 on the grounds of a former paper and cardboard factory. I discovered it quite some time ago—rather by chance—during one of my photography tours; however, it was closed at the time, so I resolved to return in order to approach this relatively little-known concentration camp with both my heart and my camera. It is gratifying to see that the institution offers a wealth of programs for schools, students, and young people, aiming to forge a connection between what happened back then and what is happening today. Individual fates are singled out—made more tangible through personal stories and artifacts than through cruel statistics alone.  

 

 

Incidentally, the novel *The Seventh Cross* by Anna Seghers is also set in this very place. Furthermore, an exhibition is currently on display—one that I found deeply moving—focusing on the victims of National Socialism who, in some cases, remain unrecognized to this day: people who did not fit into the Nazis' cruel schema—artists, free spirits, and homosexuals. 

(Osthofen, Germany, April 26th, 2026)

 

 

Links:

- KZ Osthofen Website

- Wikipedia - KZ Osthofen

 

 

Technobabble: 

Pictures taken on Ilford HP5+ with Canon EOS1V + EF 1.4/24L, 1.4/35L and 1.2/50L, red filter, development and scan to TIFF by OnFilmLab, Frankfurt