Anderl Textile Mill: Austria June 2018

We find this abandoned textile mill hidden down a quiet lane in Waldviertel, an isolated region of Austria, near the Czech border.

So much machinery is left here. Its more like a museum than an abandoned location. Machines are still full of yarn and fabric, it seems like they just closed for the weekend and will return to carry on production on Monday. However the site has been closed for nearly 15 years!

The mill was founded in the early 1800’s as a hand weaving mill. Johann Anderl relocated to this site from Vienna. The area was popular for textile mills at the time and being located by a river aided to a free source of energy. The hydro power aided in bringing in new processes and technology to compete with the other local mills.

During WWii production ceased and the factory was used by Felten & Guilleaume for producing telecommunication materials for the military.

After the war, Hans Anderl took over the running of the mill and in 1950 started they strarteds producing Vigogne, a blend of cotton and sheep’s wool. This increased the workforce to over 200 and at its peak nearly 300 people were employed at the site.

Further steps were taken at modernisation in the late 1960’s and the workforce decreased.

After struggling for sometime the mill eventually closed in 2004.

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