The Panoven Estate takes you back in time into the world of a 19th-century brickworks. The Panoven brickworks was a family business which made tiles, roof tiles and bricks. When the factory closed in 1983, the various drying sheds – the region’s industrial heritage – were converted into new economic pillars and the various buildings were given a new purpose, ensuring that the history of Gelderland’s brick and tilemaking is kept alive.
Heavy work
In the 19th century, brickworks were everywhere along Gelderland’s rivers. The thick layers of river clay made the region ideal for this purpose. The characteristic towers of the brick kilns were eye-catching landmarks in the flat river landscape. The brickworks created a lot of employment, although the work they offered was difficult and poorly paid. Women and children worked in the factories too the welfare state had not yet been born. Brick and tilemaking was seasonal work the work ending as soon as the bricks lay drying out in the summer sun. Often, the workers and their families then moved on to seek work elsewhere, or jobs were made available – for example with a butcher friend – to enable the brick-makers to earn an income in the winter after all.
Family business
Like many brickworks, the Panoven brickworks was a family business. It produced bricks, tiles and roof tiles for more than 130 years, the last 100 of these under the management of the Kruitwagen family. The Panoven brickworks used a round zigzag kiln that burned continuously. The industry grew as brick became more popular for building houses. The designs of the Amsterdam School of architecture in the early 20th century meant that brick became even more popular. But after 1950, there were hard times in the brick trade. Production was mechanised and fewer brickworks were needed. The Panoven brickworks had to face reality, and in 1983, Wim Kruitwagen extinguished the fire in the kiln.
National monument
Most of Gelderland’s brickworks have been demolished, but the Kruitwagen family have gone the other way and opened the factory’s doors again. As an industrial heritage site, the Panoven estate gives visitors a glimpse into the brick-makers’ world. The still-intact round zigzag kiln is the last of its kind in Western Europe and is very much worth a look. In addition to the museum, the Panoven Estate offers hotel rooms, group accommodation, conference rooms and a restaurant. The round zigzag kiln and the drying shed have national monument status.
