Moss Jernverk

In November 1704 Moss and its surroundings were inspected by experts from the oberbergamt (the state authority responsible for mines and minerals) in Kongsberg and a letter of privilege was issued on 6 December that year.

In the letter various privileges were stated; for the surrounding woods, area for the ironworks, water, access by road, iron ore, freedom from customs and several other points.

The war years were difficult for the ironworks: in addition to looting the farmers were busy with transporting goods for the forces and had little time for producing and delivering charcoal.

[9] On 21 January 1739 the oberbergamt on Kongsberg ruled that Jens Bondorph was given the right to control the part of Moss Jernverk that belonged to the widow, until the case was settled.

[note 8] In a 1723 report from Moss Jernverk the manager Knud Wendelboe wrote that they had to collect iron ore for 2–3 years to have one production period.

In the long period that Lars Semb was manager at Moss Jernverk he traveled almost yearly to the mining areas and he subsequently stayed with the local agents.

[16] The lack of charcoal continued under Ancher & Wærn's ownership of Moss Jernverk, even though they paid better than other ironworks and gave bonus to those that delivered more than requested.

[note 9] For the total time-span of 1750–1808 Moss Jernverk received an average of 6,000 lester charcoal each year, while the need for full production mandated twice the quantity.

[50] During the Autumn of 1749 the application from Ancher & Wærn regarding privileges for production of cannons was reviewed by Landetatens Generalkommisariat in Copenhagen, supported by the firm's representative Johan Frederik Classen.

On 30 August 1752 a royal decree was issued, granting Moss Jernverk an expanded advance, mortgaged in the premises and dependent on a successful test shooting, now in Copenhagen.

[55] The negative reply and many other problems made Ancher send a prolonged petition to the king himself, dated 28 July 1754, where he gave a thorough description of all the troubles Moss Jernverk have had in establishing production of cannons.

[note 20] Wærn did however immediately distance himself from the settlement and an extended legal process started where several prominent persons got involved, among them the renowned lawyer Henrik Stampe.

[66] During the 1770s Erich Ancher's debt problems with the ironworks were steadily more serious, his properties were successively mortgaged or sold off, until he at last had to surrender and sell Moss Jernverk to his cousins Bernt and Jess Anker.

[71] Bernt Anker's acquisition of Moss Jernverk (he had effectively controlled the business since his uncle had sold it) marked the end of the work's last glorious period.

[76] The firm had according to Bernt Anker lost 150,000 riksdaler on Moss Jernverk when he bought out his brothers and he concluded a reduction in the costs, and in addition a larger capital base, gave various savings.

After Bernt Anker's 1805 death his business empire was organised in a Fideikommiss (a special type of foundation) where the manager at Moss Jernverk, Lars Semb, was one of the three persons on the board.

[84] 1805 was a very good year for Moss Jernverk, but in 1807 the situation changed dramatically when the Denmark-Norway Royal Navy launched its attack on Copenhagen and then entered the Napoleonic wars on the French side.

[86] Economically 1808 was a good year for the ironworks, but owing to the heavy production and early start in the winter with casting guns the blast furnaces were heavily worn, the easternmost was used for the last time in 1809.

Even though the times were hard, it was Moss Jernverk that during these years produced net value with the Bernt Anker fideikommiss, however by the end of the war it was based on the timber from the saw mills.

Owing to the Continental System and the Royal Navy blockade there were severe problems with food, the local shipowner David Chrystie's brig Refsnes was taken by the British during an attempt to fetch a large cargo of grain in Aalborg.

[88] After the Treaty of Kiel where Denmark had to cede Norway to Sweden, a new situation emerged and the Sjøkrigskommisariatet (admiralty) in Christiania inquired regarding Moss Jernverk capacity for Armour to the country's armed forces.

[note 27] The times were also bad for the timber trade and in 1817 the profit was no more than 6,000 spesiedaler, the lowest result manager Lars Semb had delivered in the 33 years he had been at Moss Jernverk.

[89] The economy of Bernt Anker's fideikommiss steadily worsened during and after the Napoleonic wars, and on 13 December 1819 manager Lars Semb, together with the other administrators had to sign a petition to the king to appoint a liquidation board for the business.

The main road from the western coast of Sweden through Frederikshald to Christiania, the Frederikshaldske Kongevei went straight through its premises: after 1760 Moss Jernverk is widely encountered in travelers' literature.

[93] A quite typical visitor was the South-America count of Miranda: in 1787 he visited and viewed the works, the water falls, the park around the administration building and the cannon foundry.

[94] Moss Jernverk's central position at this time is seen by how Bernt Anker developed it in new and daring ventures: in the autumn of 1791 the first Norwegian East Indiaman Carl, Prince af Hessen was there to be equipped.

[95] The hospitality at Moss Jernverk continued after Bernt Anker's death and when Christian August travelled through to Sweden in 1810 (he was elected Swedish crown prince) a large effort was put into giving him a memorable stay.

The cease-fire negotiations started on 10 August and the Swedish generals Magnus Björnstjerna and Anders Fredrik Skjöldebrand arrived at the Norwegian king and government headquarters at Moss Jernverk.

Christian Frederick stayed a few more days at Moss Jernverk and on 16 August he issued a short but touching proclamation to the Norwegian people, which explained the last month's events, the cease-fire and the convention.

From a principled position, count Wedel voted for abandoning the levies on Swedish iron, even though he, as an owner of several Norwegian ironworks, experienced a huge loss in the establishment of free trade.

The Moss waterfalls and Moss Jernverk (summer 1800), painted by J.W. Edy . The power from the waterfalls was one of the main reasons for the establishment of an ironworks in Moss.
Moss Ironworks administration building
Map of Moss from 1834
Map of mines used by Moss Jernverk
Picture from a location in Telemark where iron ore was extracted in old times.
Iron oven manufactured at Moss Jernverk in 1769, possibly designed by Henrik Beck, on display at Moss by- og industrimuseum
Photo from Torbjørnsbu gruver, closed iron ore mine by Langsævannet in Arendal, similar mines in the area supplied iron ore to Moss Jernverk, photo by KEN
Burning wood to produce charcoal
Blast furnace in production, painting from Bærums verk by Christian August Lorentzen (1749–1828)
Part of iron oven produced by Moss Jernverk, from 1769, by Henrik Bech , motif: Scævola burning his right hand on an altar, at Moss By- og Industrimuseum
Part of iron oven produced by Moss Jernverk, dated around 1721–1729, unknown designer, motif: Gentleman gives order to a servant, to the right a dog. In the background a castle with a spire and trees, from Moss By- og Industrimuseum
Old wooden houses, used by workers at Moss Jernverk
Old wooden houses, used by workers at Moss Jernverk
Swedish mortar, similar cannons were produced at Moss Jernverk
12-pound cannon cast at Moss Jernverk in 1762, it was found and reclaimed in Vardø 1970, today it is on display beside the old administration building at Moss Jernverk
Detail from 12-pound cannon, AW is abbreviation for Ancher & Wærn
Detail from 12-pound cannon, the aft part, with royal monogram and hole for firing the weapon
Iron oven produced at Moss Jernverk, on display on the first floor in the old administration building
Detail of iron oven produced at Moss Jernverk, on display on the first floor in the old administration building
Bernt Anker, 1746–1805, Norwegian businessman, from the book Danmarks Riges Historie , volume 5
Drawing of the administration building at Moss Jernverk and the waterfalls, by J.W. Edy
Advertisement for Moss Jernverk's products in the newspaper Norske Intelligenz-Seddeler in the spring of 1787; this advertisement was published several times
Konvensjonsgården or Verket nr. 1 as the building also was called, was the administration building at Moss Jernverk. The house was built by Erich Anker from 1756 and completed by his nephew Jess Anker in 1778.
A Carronade, short cannon for ships, with large caliber, for close range engagement, similar cannons were cast at Moss Jernverk during the war 1807–1814
The monument over Wedel-Jarlsberg on Dronningberget on Bygdøy in Oslo was done by the artist Hans Michelsen in 1845
In 2005 the Swedish East Indiaman Götheborg visited Moss. This was however not the first time such a vessel departed from the city, first time was in 1791.
Frederick VI of Denmark-Norway. As crown prince he visited Moss Jernverk. Oil on canvas by F.C. Grøger, 1808
Christian VIII of Denmark painted in Denmark in 1813 before he arrived in Norway as a stadtholder . He never returned to Norway after 1814. Oil on canvass by J. L. Lund
Map of the various businesses around the Moss waterfalls in 1811, Moss Jernverk to the left of the map, scan by city of Moss
Sketch of Moss Jernverk in 1875, scan by city of Moss
The old workers' houses on the eastern side of what once was the main road between Christiania and the Swedish border are among the few buildings still left after Moss Jernverk.