Historical lecture: The "Bocholt brick

The city of Bocholt invites interested citizens to a historical lecture on the former brickworks in the south of Bocholt on Thursday, November 3, 2022. It will begin at 7 p.m. in the Biemenhorst community center. Participation is free of charge. The event is part of the series "Stadtgeschichte vor Ort", which provides interesting insights into the history of Bocholt on the occasion of the 800th anniversary of the city.

At 7 p.m., Maria Bußkamp and Heinrich Tepasse will give a talk on the history of the Biemenhorst and Lankern brickworks and explain why they still characterize the Bocholt townscape today. In cooperation with the historian Dr. Marius Lange, interesting and surprising details have been gathered. Clay played a major role in this.

With industrialization, countless factory workers flocked to the city of Bocholt at the end of the 19th century. This also increased the need for living space. Several businessmen reacted to this and built six brickworks east of Dingdener Strasse from 1889/90.

In 1898 alone, 37 million bricks are said to have been produced, which were urgently needed to boost construction activity. Today, overgrown brick pits reveal the extent of brick production.

The "Bocholt brick

In the pits, clay was once "stabbed" by hand. It was transported to the brickworks on lorries pulled by horses. There, brick blanks were pressed. The typical Bocholt brick was then fired in large ring kilns at temperatures of up to 1,100 degrees Celsius. It was to become characteristic of the Bocholt townscape.

The brickworks in the south of Bocholt today provided work and bread for many fathers of families. The ancestors of many of the original inhabitants of Bocholt were once so-called "brickmakers".