Mirador Steinfort

Steinfort

AL SCHMELZ in Steinfort

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Mia and I are standing in front of the nature conservation centre in Steinfort. The metal of the rails are shimmering in the sun. If you look down over a small wall you can see an old building. 

“Hey, Emil, can you feel the ground trembling too?” my sister asks. She’s right! I can feel a tingling under my feet. We turn around to look. 

“There are train tracks over there! Let’s follow them and perhaps we’ll find out more,” says Mia.

“Choo choo,” I lead the way. We walk along the tracks. From a distance, we suddenly see a big locomotive. We run up to it really excited. Who is that? An old man gets off the locomotive. He has black hands, dirty overalls and a pipe in his mouth. 

“Hello. Did the ground just tremble because of the locomotive?” asks Mia boldly. 

“Of course! I’m setting off again in two minutes,” the man explains. 

“Where are you going?” I ask. 

“I’m going to the smelting works. I’ve got to check if everything is as it should be. Do you want to come with me?” the old man coughs. Mia and I look at each other, we grin and jump onto the locomotive excitedly. “Hold on tight, off we go!”

The locomotive jerks along as we ride down the street. All of a sudden, there are big buildings everywhere. “On the left, you can see the blast furnace, that’s where I have to take the iron ore,” the man explains. There’s hammering and chugging everywhere. The air has a strange smell. It’s thick with black smoke. The man seems to read my mind: “You get used to the smell and the noise.” 

Gosh, I marvel at this. I’ve never seen a real smelting works before. “Does the iron for the rails come from here?” 

“Yes, dear children,” says the old man as he pulls the brakes on the train. “This is where I have to unload the iron ore. It will be used to make metal together with that pile of coal there. But now it’s getting too dangerous. Please walk back now and go behind the office building,” he explains to us and points with his finger to the building that we had seen before from above. Mia and I walk off. The man sticks his pipe back in his mouth and mumbles: “Goodbye!” 

Mia and I run off. Once behind the building we lean against the wall, out of breath. 

“Hey, Mia, that was so exciting!” I shout excitedly. I turn around and stand there amazed. “The buildings are gone!” 

The only thing in front of us now is the office building. The rails and the locomotive have disappeared. The air is clean again and all that can be heard is birdsong. 

“Did we dream that all up?” I ask, rubbing my eyes. 

“I don’t think we’ll ever get an answer to that,” Mia says.





Can you start the locomotive?

Grouchy old Pir puts his heart and soul into being foreman at the Steinfort smelting works. He takes his difficult job very seriously. This means that he grumbles a lot and is rarely in the mood for jokes! Working in the smelting works is anything but safe: the blast furnace is constantly running at full speed and has to be hot enough to smelt the iron and extract it from the stone. It’s hard to keep a cool head in this roaring heat. Which is why Pir must have forgotten his secret numbers. Now he can’t open the lock on his locomotive. That’s awful! Because in six hours at the latest, the melt flow of slag and metal has to be collected. Help Pir remember his number combination!

To help Pir, you’ll need the Actionbound app. You can download the app for free. This will take you directly to the puzzle.

Download and print

  • Mirador Steinfort

    Steinfort

    Find the number combination !

    pdf | 4.43 MB

    If you want to solve the mystery of the Steinfort smelting works, the Actionbound app will show you the way through the Schwaarzenhaff nature reserve! To give you some help, this map also shows you the whole route. However, you are also welcome to walk here on your own. Tips for excursions and information about the nature reserve can be obtained from the Mirador reception centre.

    Download - Find the number combination ! | pdf | 4.43 MB
Guttland Germany France

INFOS & EXTRAS

Al Schmelz 

The Al Schmelz is the former iron factory in Steinfort. Today you can’t see much of its blast furnace and many buildings. But 100 years ago, for the community of Steinfort and its economic prosperity, the factory was hugely important. It had to close in the 1930s because iron could be produced more cheaply in other factories. Today, all that remains is the factory’s office building.

Steinfort Adventure – outdoor climbing for fun 

Steinfort Adventure is all about being active in nature. You’ll need courage and concentration to climb in the treetops. There are ten different routes. From the age of four, you can go on the monkey and tiger routes.

Steinfort swimming pool 

The swimming pool in Steinfort has a large 25 x 10 m sports pool with an area for non-swimmers. After your swim, you can relax in the sauna or hammam.

Al Schmelz

Steinfort
Visitor centre Mirador
Visitor centre Mirador
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© Commune de Steinfort
Al Schmelz
Al Schmelz
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Steinfort Adventure
Steinfort Adventure: Outdoor climbing fun:
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© Mike Zenari
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Swimming pool Steinfort
Steinfort pool: Swimming and relaxing
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Video

If you want to know more about the smelting works in Steinfort, you can watch a video about it. The video also explains how the iron was produced.

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