Tower clock workshop

from Groß-Umstadt

Built: 1863
Dismantled: 1992
Reassembled: 1992 to 1996

This gem of rural classicism is tucked away between the Houses from Laubach and Schadeck. It was a workshop belonging to the tower clock family Ritzert from Groß-Umstadt, where several generations of the family cast, manufactured and assembled clocks until the First World War.

The workshop had been built in the rear of the Ritzert premises, creating a small backyard between the dwelling house and the workshop. After the estate was divided in 1922, the business was discontinued and a cabinet maker used the workshop until 1935. At the end, before its dismantling, it was used as a storage space. Apart from a horse stable, the stone building comprises a small workshop with a melting furnace and a drying oven. The building is presented in its 1875 state when the Ritzert business was at its peak.