Thale Becomes a Town @museum.de

When the plant was converted into a joint-stock company in 1872, it marked the beginning of a steady process of expansion that lasted until the First World War.

In quick succession, puddling steel mill, new rolling mills, an enamelling works, a foundry, a Siemens-Martin steel plant and the Container and Apparatus Construction facility were built. Deep-drawn sheet metal was processed into household utensils, while thicker sheets were turned into containers and apparatuses. The foundry produced goods for the sanitary ware sector, such as bathtubs or washbasins. All the products were finished with an enamel coating.

Enamel “made in Thale” had a good reputation, which was why the trademark "Löwenemail" – “Lion Enamel” – was registered with Germany’s Patent Office in 1894. Products from Thale bore the trademark lion for decades to come. Salt containers, roasting tins, cake tins, milk cans and tea pots – all this kitchenware dates from the years 1900 to 1910. Enamelware had finally arrived on the mass market.

The rapid economic upturn was also reflected in the population figures:

In around 1860, Thale had just sixteen hundred inhabitants – but by the end of the First World War, more than 13,000 people were living here. A glance at the two photographs at the top provides clear evidence. The sedate village of Alt-Thale had become a blue-collar town. On the 1st of May 1919 – Mayday – thousands marched through the streets.

Three years later, in 1922, Thale officially advanced from village to town – an example of how industrialisation led to the formation of new towns.