At a door, there is a recipe for a dye solution written in chalk, an old coffee pot is lying around waiting for its owner, and piles of handwritten notes are colorfully scattered on a table – one might think that the workers in the Müller Cloth Factory have just briefly stepped out and will soon come back through the door to continue spinning threads and weaving fabrics. In fact, the Müller Cloth Factory closed its doors in 1961, falling into a Sleeping Beauty slumber. Manufacturer Kurt Müller hoped to get his cloth production machines running again, but that hope was not fulfilled – for visitors of the LVR Industrial Museum today, this is a stroke of luck, as they gain an unusual insight into cloth production.
The LVR Industrial Museum / Müller Cloth Factory can only be visited as part of guided tours that take place regularly. It is a small journey into the recent past when cloth production was a significant industry in Euskirchen. The machines and tools are still located where they were once installed and laid down. The guides tell stories about the technology of the machines, dyeing, and spinning yarn. And then the looms start to work. The shuttles dart back and forth, and fine cloth is made from loose wool.
Films, small installations, and models illustrate the fascinating factory world; they tell of labor, heat, and steam in the dye house. The Müller Cloth Factory exemplifies the rise and decline of the Rhineland wool cloth industry. In the late 1950s, the cloth factory, like many other small wool cloth manufacturers, came under competitive pressure. Italian manufacturers supplied cheaper goods made from reclaimed wool, and in 1961, the operation had to close.
In the entrance area, there are changing exhibitions, activities for children, and regularly scheduled “Steam Sundays” when the steam engine from 1903 is put into operation.
