forge, foundry or other metal smithing

Hi, We are going to the Frankfurt area in the fall. My husband is very interested in armor and the making of armor and swords. Is there any re-enactment or historic blacksmith museums?

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Hessenpark - open air museum of Hesse

www.hessenpark.de/english/frame_find.html

has historical village blacksmiths shops. With demonstrations from time to time

Solingen

http://www2.solingen.de/C12572F800380BE5/files/2007_touristenkarte_englisch_web.pdf/$file/2007_touristenkarte_englisch_web.pdf

a drop forge converted into a demonstrating museum

industriemuseum.lvr.de/schauplaetze/solingen/

and in Solingen you can also find still producing companies. E.g.

http://www.military-swords.com/startweb.php

Between Frankfurt and Solingen there is the Siegerland

A metal mining and processing area with a long history. While the last mines have been closed 4 decades ago, metal processing is still a strong industry there.

de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bergbau_im_Siegerland

siegerland-wittgenstein-tourismus.de/kultur-…

siegerland-wittgenstein-tourismus.de/kultur-…

http://www.technikmuseum-freudenberg.de/

http://www.wendener-huette.de/bildergalerie/

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Looks like you have already gotten some good info there. Another possibility might be the Saalburg as it is Roman fort reconstruction, but that time period might not be right for you.

For re-enactment type of things (you don%26#39;t give your dates) Castle Ronneburg has a Medieval Fest on 26 Sept. and 3-4 Oct. I do not have a good website for them as it is in German. I would visit some of the castles along the Rhine and see what they might offer, or it least look at their websites. Some archaeology or historical museums might offer workshops, but then again, it will probably be in German.

I think the Hessen Park or the Medieval Fest is going to be your best bet. You can then talk to the people there and be pointed in the right directions. In fact, you might go ahead and send an email to the folks at Hessen Park. They might have some good info for you.

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Thanks a ton to everybody who posted! We will be there from September 19 to October 4th. I am really excited! We are staying at a castle B and B, going to Berg Elkz (sp?), Bachrach, St. Goar, Tier and Koblenz. I have heard good things about Rothenburg. We were also thinking about a 2 day excursion to somewhere a little further away. Either Strasbourg, Wiesbaden, Heidelberg, Dusseldorf, Luxemborg ??? It will depend on what we find out! Thanks so much! Any more info would always be appreciated!