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Moss Jernverk (Moss Ironworks) was an ironwork in Moss, Norway. Established in 1704, it was for many years the largest workplace in the city, and melted ore, chiefly from Arendalsfeltet (a geologic province in Norway). With power from the nearby waterfalls it manufactured many different products. From around the middle of the 1700 century the works were the leading armory in the country and produced hundreds of heavy iron cannons. The first rolling mill in Norway was also located here. Amongst Moss Jernverk's owners were many of Norway's best-known businessmen, including Bernt Anker and Herman Wedel-Jarlsberg. Under Anker's management it became a much visited attraction for early travellers to Norway. The administration building is best known for being the site where the Convention of Moss was negotiated in August 1814. At the middle of the 1800 century Moss Ironworks met increased competition from Swedish and English ironworks; consequently it closed down in 1873. It was sold for 115,000 speciedaler in 1875 and the area was taken over by the company M. Peterson & Søn, which used it until it went bankrupt in 2012. == Background and establishment == Iron has been extracted and processed in what today is known as Norway for over two thousand years.〔''Fra jernverkenes historie i Norge'', p. 13〕 The first iron producers used Bog iron, which then was processed by what Norwegians know as "jernvinne". Such production of iron was however local and on a small scale – much effort was needed to extract small quantities of iron. In the 16th century the interest for excavating ore grew in Europe and the foundation for modern knowledge of mineralogy was established by the German Georgius Agricola.〔''Fra jernverkenes historie i Norge'', p. 28〕 In the kingdom of Denmark-Norway it was found iron ore in the Norwegian part of the country. In the southern part of Norway the richest deposits were in the Arendalsfeltet around the city of Arendal; however, owing to the need for large amounts of wood to produce charcoal for the blast furnace and power from water falls for powering the bellows, iron works were often established at other places than close to the iron ore mines. 〔"It was actually over time the supply of charcoal - the woods - that were decisive for development of iron works. Already from early times there were a decentralization at many works in order to use the woods best and cheapest.", from ''Fra jernverkenes historie i Norge'', p. 57〕 By the city of Moss there was easy access to power from waterfalls; there were large woods in the vicinity and the location by the Oslofjord made receiving ore and shipping out the various produced goods easy. The Danish civil servant and businessman Ernst Ulrich Dose started in 1704 with establishing an ironwork at Moss,〔''Moss Jernverk'', p. 22〕 and in the same year the Dano-Norwegian king Frederick IV visited Moss twice,〔''Moss Jernverk'', p. 20〕 events that were positive for Dose's undertakings. In addition to buying land and claiming rights to power from the waterfalls and access iron ore, the projected iron work received "cirkumferens", an area with a radius of around 25 kilometer where the farmers had to produce and deliver charcoal and other raw material to the iron work. In November 1704 Moss and its surroundings were inspected by experts from the oberbergamt (the state authority responsible for mines and minerals) on Kongsberg and a letter of privilege was issued on December 6 the same year. In the letter various privileges were stated; for the surrounding woods, area for the iron works, water, access by road, iron ore, freedom from customs and several other points. Of special interest for us today is that functionaries and workers were exempted from taxes and military service; they were to be tried by "bergretten" (a special court for miners, residing on Kongsberg), and if needed skilled workers could be recruited from abroad, regardless of what nation they belonged to.〔"Master craftsmen and artisans that must be recruited from abroad for building and running the iron works shall without hindrance be allowed into the country with their people and their belongings, regardless of what nation they belong to. Equally free they shall be allowed to leave after lawful discharge.", from ''Moss Jernverk'', p. 31〕 By its extensive royal privileges Moss Ironworks when it was established close to be a state within the state.〔"The mining and melting enterprises with its mines, blast furnaces, forges and its cirkumferens (area where farmers were imposed supplying charcoal), were as half sovereign enclaves in the pre-industrial Norway, where free farmers were morphed into forced laborers and forced suppliers to the iron works.", p. 277, Knut Mykland, ''Norges historie'', vol. 7, Cappelens forlag, Oslo 1977〕 Dying in 1706, the prosperous Ernst Ulrich Dose did not live to see Moss Ironworks in full operation. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Moss Jernverk」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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