As part of a funding project by the Ministry of Science, Research and Culture of the State of Brandenburg, almost 500 plans were digitized - from an archive of over 6.000 plans in the Mildenberg brickworks park. Which plans do you choose for an exhibition?

The plans on display shared a common theme: all were designed in 1953 by the Berlin I Industrial Construction Design Office as part of the GDR's first five-year plan and represent an almost complete series.

The plans on display all belong to the B53/795 project. But which brickworks do they come from? What is obvious to experts at first glance remains a mystery to many observers: It is not immediately clear which brickworks is depicted.

The design office for industrial construction Berlin I developed the project B53-795
as part of the GDR’s first five-year plan between 1951 and 1953, which
the historical time frame is established. The formerly independent brickworks were nationalized in the GDR and renamed: They were given numbers instead of the names of their owners. This restructuring took place several times. For example, the Stackebrandt and Herzberg brickworks in the brickworks park bore various names over the years, including "Mildenberg Abt. IV", "Mildenberg Werk
VII”, “Mildenberg Plant 6/1” and “Mildenberg Plant Part 3.1”.

The project's ground plans show a port right next to the ring kiln - a port that still exists today, while the ring kiln has disappeared. Historical maps indicate that this is the
Prerauer & Co. brickworks in Zehdenick-Dammhast on the eastern side of the Havel. After the founding of the “VEB Ziegelwerke Zehdenick” in 1951, this brickworks was given the name “Production Department II”.

Not quite. Many archive files relating to the B53-795 project have the word "WERK 3" written in pencil. However, at the time the plans were drawn up, the Prerauer brickworks was not yet known as "WERK 3". It was not until 1969, when the "VEB Ziegelwerke Zehdenick" became the "VEB Ziegelkombinat Potsdam", that it was given this name.
The name "WERK 3" was added later. Mystery solved? Perhaps not for good, because archival work is often like a treasure hunt - and there are still many stories slumbering in the archives of the Brickworks Park.

You can purchase the plans. We look forward to your reservation.