Anderl Textile Mill, Austria

Anderl Textile Mill, Austria

An abandoned fabric mill in Austria with everything left in place including vintage spinning and weaving machinery.

Visited June 2018  Austria Austria Closed, Abandoned

Anderl Textile Mill is a historic abandoned fabric mill in the Schrems municipality, Austria, with a lot of vintage machinery for spinning yarn and weaving cloth. It looks like the workers just got up and left, with fabric still left in the machines and everything left in place.

The mill was established in 1879 when Johann Anderl, a woven goods manufacturer from Vienna’s Webgasse, took over the Klee Mill and relocated its production. Initially there were a few mechanical looms, and the mill was situated by a river to provide hydro power for the machinery. Towards the end of the 19th century, it switched from water to steam power and set up a dyeing and bleaching plant.

Anderl Textile Mill - Exterior of the mill
Anderl Textile Mill – Exterior of the mill

The mill ran into financial difficulties, and by 1938 went into receivership. As part of the war effort, the electric goods company Felten & Guilleaume occupied the factory and production of textiles was discontinued.

Following the war, Hans Anderl took over and rebuilt the weaving and finishing business. A “Vigognespinnerei” was established in 1950, producing Vigogne, a blend of cotton and sheep’s wool, creating employment for 220 people.

The mill was again modernised in 1967 when Anderl’s nephew, Richard Hein, took over. By this time the old machinery had become outdated, and the workforce had been reduced to just 20 people. The equipment was replaced with modern machinery to produce sheets for the hospitals in Vienna, diapers, gauze and linen for tire production. At its height, employment rose to 275 people, however owing to the decline of the textile industry the mill was forced to close in 2004.


Spinning Machines

The first part of the process to produce textiles is to spin the base material, usually cotton or a mix with wool, to make it into a yarn.

Anderl Textile Mill - Vintage spinning machinery
Anderl Textile Mill – Vintage spinning machinery
Anderl Textile Mill - Schlafhorst Autoconer winding machine
Anderl Textile Mill – Schlafhorst Autoconer winding machine
Anderl Textile Mill - More spinning machines
Anderl Textile Mill – More spinning machines
Anderl Textile Mill - Machines for combining various types of thread
Anderl Textile Mill – Machines for combining various types of thread
Anderl Textile Mill - Hazy evening sunlight
Anderl Textile Mill – Hazy evening sunlight

Stenter Machines

Next, the yarn makes its way down to the floor below where it is stretched by Stenter Machines, making threads of uniform width.

Anderl Textile Mill - Yarn being fed from the spinners above
Anderl Textile Mill – Yarn being fed from the spinners above
Anderl Textile Mill - The stenter machines stretch out the threads
Anderl Textile Mill – The stenter machines stretch out the threads

Weaving Machinery

Once the thread it stretched, it can be woven on a loom to form fabric such as linen. Weaving machines automate this process.

Anderl Textile Mill - Automated weaving looms
Anderl Textile Mill – Automated weaving looms
Anderl Textile Mill - Pile of bobbins next to weaving machine
Anderl Textile Mill – Pile of bobbins next to weaving machine
Anderl Textile Mill - Many of the machines still contain the material they were producing
Anderl Textile Mill – Many of the machines still contain the material they were producing
Anderl Textile Mill - Between the weaving machines
Anderl Textile Mill – Between the weaving machines

The machines were capable of weaving complex patterns. The patterns were programmed onto punch cards.

Anderl Textile Mill - Punch cards and the machines used to punch the programme onto them
Anderl Textile Mill – Punch cards and the machines used to punch the programme onto them

The floor below had more weaving machines, these appeared to be a bit older

Anderl Textile Mill - Old weaving machinery
Anderl Textile Mill – Old weaving machinery
Anderl Textile Mill - This machinery looked very dated
Anderl Textile Mill – This machinery looked very dated

Finishing Processes

The factory had an extensive array of finishing machines, to convert the woven cloth into a usable material.

Anderl Textile Mill - One of the finishing machines
Anderl Textile Mill – One of the finishing machines
Anderl Textile Mill - Another view of the finishing machine
Anderl Textile Mill – Another view of the finishing machine
Anderl Textile Mill - Rollers of a Schlafhorst machine
Anderl Textile Mill – Rollers of a Schlafhorst machine
Anderl Textile Mill - Finishing machinery
Anderl Textile Mill – Finishing machinery
Anderl Textile Mill - Another finishing machine with rollers
Anderl Textile Mill – Another finishing machine with rollers
Anderl Textile Mill - This Monforts machine had a room all to itself
Anderl Textile Mill – This Monforts machine had a room all to itself

Dyeing, Printing and Drying

The last part of the process is to dye the fabric, print any patterns onto it and ensure it’s all dry.

Anderl Textile Mill - Printing press to print patterns and designs onto the finished fabric
Anderl Textile Mill – Printing press to print patterns and designs onto the finished fabric
Anderl Textile Mill - Dyeing machine
Anderl Textile Mill – Dyeing machine
Anderl Textile Mill - Another dye machine to colour the fabric
Anderl Textile Mill – Another dye machine to colour the fabric
Anderl Textile Mill - Warm air would be drawn through the drying room to dry the fabric
Anderl Textile Mill – Warm air would be drawn through the drying room to dry the fabric

Offices and other areas of the site

The offices remained with everything still in place.

Anderl Textile Mill - One of the many offices
Anderl Textile Mill – One of the many offices
Anderl Textile Mill - Lots of paperwork and records remained in the offices
Anderl Textile Mill – Lots of paperwork and records remained in the offices
Anderl Textile Mill - Storage vault
Anderl Textile Mill – Storage vault
Anderl Textile Mill - Exterior of the office block
Anderl Textile Mill – Exterior of the office block
Anderl Textile Mill - The main mill building and the newer of the two chimneys
Anderl Textile Mill – The main mill building and the newer of the two chimneys
Author: Andy Kay | Facebook | Flickr | Instagram

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