“Am Anfang war das Eisen” – Ein Projekt zur Dokumentation der geschichtlichen Entwicklung der Stahlproduktion in Riesa und Lonato Erasmus Project

Project Title

“Am Anfang war das Eisen” – Ein Projekt zur Dokumentation der geschichtlichen Entwicklung der Stahlproduktion in Riesa und Lonato

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Strategic Partnerships for Schools Only

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2015

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Enterprise, industry and SMEs (incl. entrepreneurship); EU Citizenship, EU awareness and Democracy; Teaching and learning of foreign languages

Project Summary

“In the beginning was the iron” – in 1725 iron was produced in Riesa for the first time. In 1843 the establishment of an ironworks in Riesa started, and the technological foundations for steel production were laid. Until the political change in 1990 the Riesa steelworks was the biggest employer in the region. Because of both the technically obsolete equipment and the collapse of traditional markets in the Eastern bloc the steelworks did not have any chance of survival in 1990. The biggest employer in Riesa dismissed 10,000 workers into unemployment.

In Lombardy/Italy, in the region of Brescia, the iron and steel production started in 1954. The history of the Feralpi Group began in 1968 with the foundation of a new steel factory location in Lonato.

In 1992 it was the investment of the Feralpi Group at the location in Riesa which lead to the rebirth of a steel factory location of long tradition under the company name Elbe-Stahlwerke Feralpi GmbH. Riesa celebrated the beginning of a new era of steel production.

After consultations with the management board of the Feralpi steelworks and the town museum of Riesa there was huge interest in the historical review of the development of the steel industry in Riesa and Lonato. The topic of the project “In the beginning was the iron” was interesting and useful for both schools in Riesa and Lonato because our students analysed the history of both steel factory locations in Riesa and Lonato in a parallel way. In different activities separate groups looked through historical documents, consulted contemporary witnesses, exchanged the results in workshops, brought out common ground and differences in development and finally presented the results in an exhibition in Riesa and Lonato. Accompanying tasks for the students dealt with metallurgy, the technology and the environmental protection of steel production during the course of history.

During the whole period of the project the students dealt intensively with the historical, economic and social development of their home country and the partner country. With the help of the chosen topic the students experienced very closely what the historical development in their direct sphere means. They detected the connections between social and economic development. They had a critical look at the role of the steel industry during both world wars. But the students also recognized how important a strong industrial development is for technological advance and social prosperity. With their project results and the public presentation they contributed considerably to filling historical gaps, to increasing the population’s acceptance of a steelworks in town and to a rising willingness of young people to start a dual professional training.

On the way into the European community the aim was to prepare the young people also for the requirements of the European labour market and for the cooperation with people from the European countries. The ability to adapt to the national particularities of other countries required the sensitization for the culture and the spheres of life in European countries. The students of the grammar school at the vocational school centre BSZ für Technik und Wirtschaft Riesa and the grammar school students of IIS LUIGI CEREBOTANI Lonato had mostly gained their experiences of life within their national setting. The project used the first contacts with the partner institution and achieved a continuous cooperation between both schools. By means of combining different school subjects, involving communicative (with regard to foreign languages and media technology) as well as intercultural aspects a further aim was to make the students aware of the European challenges and to enable them to act throughout Europe. The chosen topic resumed the students’ sphere of life and the experiences in their region, sharpened their way of looking at and detecting historical connections and helped them to sort these out into topical social challenges. The exemplary knowledge about cultural and economic common ground and differences enabled the students to tackle economic and technological, social as well as cultural problems more intensely. The students of both schools consolidated their competences in using English as working language as well as in using modern media and communication technology.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 44120 Eur

Project Coordinator

Berufliches Schulzentrum für Technik und Wirtschaft Riesa & Country: DE

Project Partners

• IIS LUIGI CEREBOTANI