By Bettina Pelz. 21 NOV 2024
The industrial history of the Sauerland forms the backdrop for the extraordinary network of light culture in the Sauerland. The ore deposits in the Sauerland shaped the early economic development of the region. The first evidence of mining in the Sauerland dates back to Roman times, while archaeological evidence of ore mining dates back to the early Middle Ages. Winfried Reininghaus describes the Westphalian Ore Mountains as a “forgotten mining region of the pre-industrial era” in current cultural history research. In addition to raw materials, there was also coal and water as energy sources for metal processing and the Sauerland was considered a center of wire production from the Middle Ages at the latest.
As a result of the availability of electric light and as part of the metalworking industry, a number of companies were founded in the first half of the 20th century. In 1910, Wilhelm Hoffmeister took over the Lüdenscheid engineering firm Fritz Backhaus and laid the foundations for the company, which traded under the name “Hoffmeister Leuchten”. In 1929, the production of ceiling, spring-loaded and bedside lamps began, later also desk and tube lamps. The history of the Trilux Group began in 1912 in Menden. Wilhelm Lenze produced accessories for the lighting industry as well as simple tubular pendant and wall luminaires for gas and electric lighting. In 1934, “Erco” was founded by Arnold Reininghaus, Paul Buschhaus and Karl Reeber in Lüdenscheid. In the early years of the company, Erco manufactured parts for luminaires, in particular a spring-supported retractor mechanism for pendant luminaires, so-called tension luminaires. In 1945, Bega began producing wrought-iron luminaires in Menden.
They were all represented at the first industrial trade fair held in Hanover after the Second World War. With the words “Either you export or you starve”, the British occupying power had ordered the establishment of an export trade fair. Hanover had no experience with a trade fair, the city had been destroyed by the war and there was a lack of imagination. Contrary to expectations, the experiment was a success. The first exhibition was held in a former armaments factory in 1947. This and the subsequent “Hanover Fairs” then attracted attention with pioneering technical developments and are today a symbol of the economic rise of the young Federal Republic of Germany. They also helped the lighting manufacturers from the Sauerland region to position themselves internationally. Today, international sales are just as important for the further development of medium-sized companies in the region as those generated in Germany. “ERCO may have its home in the Sauerland region, but it sees itself as a metropolitan brand. Our branches are located where most architects, lighting planners and electrical planners have their home and that is in the world’s major cities such as London, Paris or Singapore. We have to prove ourselves there. The Sauerland perhaps gives us the time to think about the demands of these metropolises in peace,” says Tim Henrik Maack, describing the development.
The Sauerland Light Week
Over the last few decades, a large number of companies have successfully established themselves in the Sauerland region. The initiative for the first “Lichtwoche Sauerland” in 2005 was supported by 22 companies. Biennial and alternating with the international trade fair “light+building” in Frankfurt, the “Lichtwoche Sauerland” is a format based on the idea of the in-house exhibition. The trade press, companies, institutions and initiatives generate a network of parallel production and sales locations and publish a joint program. The event is primarily aimed at trade visitors, who are invited by the participating companies to rooms of their choice. In addition, there is a series of public events designed to raise public awareness of light as a material and tool, while at the same time highlighting the large number of manufacturers and distributors as a special feature of the region. Since 2005, the format has established itself as a meeting point for the industry.
The NRW Light Forum
Lichtwoche Sauerland has been coordinated by “Lichtforum NRW” since 2013. The Lichtforum NRW is based in Arnsberg. The aim of the association is to provide expert support for the change in lighting technology. “The Lichtforum NRW sees itself as a neutral platform on which knowledge is pooled and passed on.” One of the self-chosen focal points is to raise awareness of the biological and ecological effects of electric light. “The consideration and processing of topics such as useless waste of light or so-called “light pollution”, ecological compatibility of the lighting effect or human well-being in indoor and outdoor spaces round off the interest in sustainable action.” The supporting organization is made up of companies from the region that promote discussions on lighting culture, information and training events and the Sauerland Light Week.
Light and Media Art in Arnsberg
Since 2009, the Lichthaus Arnsberg, a cooperative project space, has been presenting a series of projects by young contemporary artists. In the trialogue of art, architecture and history and art, there are exhibitions by contemporary artists, including a series of light-based projects. The DARK light festival took place in Arnsberg in 2017 and 2021. All projects were dedicated to light as an image carrier of digital media. Organizer was the Lichtforum NRW.
Highlight Magazine
One of the initiators of the “Lichtwoche Sauerland” and the “Lichtforum NRW” is the “Highlight” media cluster, whose editorial team is based in Rüthen: the online portal “Highlight Web” is a specialist portal with editorial articles, dates, a company database and a national job exchange. For over 25 years, the magazine “Highlight” has been one of the German-language trade magazines for lighting technology and lighting design. It is published six times a year with a circulation of 10,000 copies. The special issue “Lichtreport” is dedicated to the technical products of the lighting industry and is published twice a year with a circulation of 10,000 copies. The industry events developed and organized by “Hightlight” include the “Lichtwoche Sauerland”, the “Luminaire of the Year” competition and the “German Lighting Design Award”.
DIAL
The dense cluster of the lighting industry in the Sauerland region also led to the founding of the German Institute for Applied Lighting Technology “DIAL” in Lüdenscheid in 1989. The supporting company is a network of the lamp and lighting industry. The common goal is the development and distribution of software for lighting design as well as knowledge and quality management in the interaction of light, control and architecture. The “Dialux” software developed by DIAL is used worldwide, translated into 25 languages and used by over 600,000 users. Dialux can be used to design, calculate and visualize light. In addition, “Lumsearch” is a search engine for identifying suitable luminaires. Lamps, luminaires and control devices can also be tested in the DIAL laboratories. A large number of seminars and further training courses serve both to impart basic specialist knowledge and to facilitate innovation transfers in a timely manner.
South Westphalia University of Applied Sciences
Over the last 25 years, the design of light and the development of lighting tools has developed into an independent area of expertise with an academic curriculum. The focus of the Electrical Engineering and Information Technology course at the South Westphalia University of Applied Sciences is on energy, light and automation in business, development and research. The “Light” specialization deals with classic lighting tasks, but also with the many qualities of light, which research and science are only gradually uncovering and which are being implemented in countless technical applications. Knowledge of the new lighting technologies opens up a wide range of possible applications for electrical engineers, from architectural lighting, in the automotive industry, in medical technology or in technical applications in which light is used for quality assurance or in automation, for example. In cooperation with regional companies and institutes, the interplay of technical knowledge, innovation management and entrepreneurial activity has become a strategic part of the course. The university’s roots in the region can also be seen in its locations in Hagen, Iserlohn and Lüdenscheid.
Phänomenta Lüdenscheid
The Phänomenta is located in the immediate vicinity of the South Westphalia University of Applied Sciences in Lüdenscheid. The Science Center’s main interest is to promote understanding of technology and science among the general public. In line with the regional focus, there are a particularly large number of activities on the physics of light. This also includes light-based architectural and art objects that have been permanently integrated into the Phänomenta collection, including works by Paul Friedlander, Tom Groll and Cork Marcheschi.
Light and Media Art in Lüdenscheid
A series of works can be seen in the city’s museums in the collection room “Light and Movement”, whose title is based on the additional exhibition room “Light and Movement” at the 1964 Documenta. Uwe Obier, the former director of the Städtische Galerie, has regularly added works by Werner Bauer, Hartmut Böhm, Victor Bonato, Günter Dohr, Rolf Glasmeier, Heinz Mack, Christian Meggert, Otto Piene and Timm Ulrichs to the collection since the 1960s.
The light art project “Lichtrouten” has been realized in Lüdenscheid since 2002. Today, it is considered one of the anchor points of the “Lüdenscheid – City of Light” concept and is produced by Lüdenscheid’s city marketing department. “With the topic of light and the light routes in particular, we were able to achieve far-reaching attention for the city of Lüdenscheid and for the Sauerland region. We were thus able to show that the common prejudices against this region, which are often no longer comprehensible, cannot be upheld. As a native and resident of the Sauerland, I am delighted when we succeed in making these aspects clear,” says Jörg Marré, describing the successful interplay between city marketing and the art project. Sauerland Initiativ had already recognized the light routes as an innovative format in 2004.
Inspired by the LICHTROUTEN, the “Lichtquartier” was created. To this day, light-based works by Stefan Sous (2006) and Klaus and Yvonne Goulbier (2009), among others, can be found in Lüdenscheid’s city center.
Light plays
The classic natural and cultural spaces associated with the Sauerland are also becoming a meeting point in the region through light shows. Since 2010, the Vosswinkel Wild Forest has been staged by the Neheim event agency “Eventvision”. Since 2011, the Dechenhöhle cave has been transformed once a year by lighting designer Wolfgang Flammersfeld with large-scale colored light projections. In 2013, he also created a display on the dam wall of Lake Möhne to mark its 100th anniversary. Since 2015, he has also been the designer of the “Autumn Light Garden” in Hemer. Former industrial sites such as the Luisenhütte in Balve are also regularly staged with light. Under the title “Luise heats up”, the former smelter becomes a stage for fire and light and illustrates the historical images of work at the historic blast furnace for 21st century entertainment.
Charisma
If you ask the Lüdenscheid artist Tom Groll why he is based in the Sauerland, he says: “The technical know-how and the openness of the industry to my art with light, as well as the project work in public spaces, opened the doors to a fruitful collaboration for me.” Today, the many associations with light are one of the contemporary hallmarks of the Sauerland region. The boundaries between physics and technology, research and development, design and art, living environments and play spaces are highly permeable due to geographical proximity and personal networks. Over the last 100 years, a unique cluster of expertise has developed along the diverse qualities of electric light, which has permanently changed the appearance of the region.