Built in 1936, national monument
Past
It was heavy, dirty work in some of the departments. In the press shop, for instance, grenades were oiled with graphite mixed with oil. Fortunately, employees could clean themselves up, to some extent, in one of the washrooms on site. There were 700-plus lockers in the locker room. Because there were so many entrances, employees could get quickly to their workstation.
This building is unique for its curved construction with three light strips in the roof. Plus, it is the only building made entirely from wood. When it was renovated, three washing troughs were retained. The toilet was on the north side; only the floor of this remains. Of the bicycle park on the south side, only a wall and the floor are still there.
Present
Artist Jasper Krabbé now has his studio here.
For more information: http://www.jasperkrabbe.com/
Built in 1936 – 1941, national monument
Past
This is actually two buildings combined: building 290 and building 336. Here, the gun carriages were overhauled by Artillerie Inrichtingen, i.e. inspected and, if necessary, repaired. A gun carriage is a frame on which cannon or other heavy artillery were mounted. In 1973, after the company was split into Eurometaal N.V. and Gereedschapswerktuigen Industrie Hembrug, this became an assembly hall and welding shop for Machinefabriek Hembrug. The building has striking skylights on the roof and is made mainly from steel and concrete.
A former employee recalls: ‘Your wage was physically handed over to you […]. There was the artillery repair place and the gun carriage workshop. In the middle of one of those big huts was a man, sitting at a table. He paid you. I think he paid the wages based on a payslip. You had to say straight away if the amount wasn’t right. You couldn’t leave then come back, otherwise you’d be told: ‘You should’ve spoken up straight away.’ You all stood in a line, waiting until it was your turn. Then you had to state your name and number. To be fair to the guy, he did a great job keeping on top of it all.’
Present
The building now houses Viking Factory, a business centre for creative entrepreneurs including:
More information: https://www.vikingfactory.nl/
Hundredth piece of artillery overhauled and modified by Artillerie Inrichtingen.
Built in 1936-1941, not a monument
Past
This was one of the transformer houses which supplied some of the site with steam, helping to make the business self-sufficient. Buildings where there was a risk of explosion didn’t have an electricity supply, but instead used steam from the boiler house. A secure electrical system was later added. Hembrug had its own medium-voltage network (3000 to 10,000 volts).
Originally, the buildings were numbered in ascending order. Over the years, many buildings have been demolished and replaced with new ones. A new building was given the next available number, so the numbering is now nonsensical. Because of this, many buildings are better known by nicknames referring to the building’s function.
Present
The foundation Stichting bij Bind now occupies the building. The living room is somewhere you can have a cup of coffee, hang out with friends, get inspiration, hold a meeting, or sit and work quietly. It is also a laboratory for new music, poetry, storytelling, art, and skills projects.
More information: https://www.bijbind.nl/
Built in 1925, national monument
Past
The testing facility comprises a hut and a twelve metre-high wooden drop tower. On the tower is a platform where tests were done. The three metre-long wooden tube beneath the platform was used for drop tests of munitions.
Built in 1928, municipal monument
Past
This storeroom is the only building on the Hembrug site in the style of the Amsterdam School, which can be recognized by the tower and the predominance of horizontal lines. It is a three-storey building and the top floors had more windows. The storeroom was used to store shells, among other things.
The buildings on the Hembrug site were numbered. Originally, they were numbered in ascending order, but these days there is no discernible logic. When a building was demolished, the new building was given a new number. Even the employees were confused by the new building numbers, so many of the buildings were given nicknames. Although munitions were stored in the ‘De Dood’ (‘Death’) storeroom, its name was not an allusion to the hazardous working conditions. The supervisor who worked here was a Mr De Dood, and his staff were, by all accounts, scared to death of him. His office on the top floor is three steps higher than the rest of the shop floor, to further reinforce his authority.
Brass sleeve 50 mm
Sleeve with a spent primer.
Built in about 1930, national monument
Past
The boiler room produced steam for the entire complex. The steam was transported via overhead pipes to the other buildings, for heating and to power machinery. Air for the compressors was transported the same way. The risk of sparks meant that electricity was a no-no. Later on, however, a secure electricity system was used. This is the section that was added in 1962. Given the sometimes dirty working conditions, a washroom was also built. The shell of the building was renovated in 2015-2016.
Present
A new occupant has yet to be found.
Fire drill at building 218.
To the right, you can see the wooden flames that were used for exercises. The ‘Artillerie Inrichtingen’ (national ammunition and weapons factory) fire brigade practised every week at a different place on the site.
Built in 1918, provincial monument
Past
This was the chemical laboratory where, among other things, chemical warfare agents such as mustard gas were developed. These were used to fill grenades. In 2012, the land around this building was investigated for traces of mustard gas. Buried laboratory waste was found in 28 locations. Following extensive soil remediation, the site is now officially free of mustard gas and other chemical warfare agents. After 1936, the building was converted to a metallurgical laboratory. An extension was added, and air vents installed Later on again, the building was used for retraining, as a carpentry workshop, and as a store for oil, paint, and chemicals.
Present
The current occupant is Lab-44, serving great food and drink all day as well as providing a space for meetings, parties and other events.
More information: https://www.lab-44.nl/
Built in about 1930, not a monument
Past
Former incinerator and hardening workshop. Here, metal tools and weapon components the composition of which had been altered by prior heating were hardened. The plastic roof was installed as a temporary measure when the original concrete roof began to crumble, presenting a hazard. Nobody had foreseen that this would create such a unique light effect in the space below.
A former employee recalls: ‘One evening, in the hardening workshop, we’d just put the coffee on to brew when a guard came and asked: ‘hear that, the flames coming from the roof?’ Well no, we hadn’t, that was really serious. A whole load of fire engines rolled up and I soon acquired a nickname: pyromaniac. The guard could have called them sooner, because the roof had already gone up in flames.’
Present
This building now houses the Museum of Humanity, an exhibition that is the brainchild of Ruben Timman.
More information: https://www.museumofhumanity.nl/
Pot hook from the hardening workshop
Long pieces of metalwork, such as grenades or shells, were brought into the vertical furnaces with the help of pot hooks made of heat-resistant steel.
Built in 1910, municipal monument
Past
This cartridge store had its own small turning shop for the production of percussion caps. Legend has it that the archives of the German occupying forces were kept here during the war. Later on, it housed Eurometaal’s water purification equipment. This is one of the smallest stand-alone buildings on the site. The entrance on the east side, with an opening for a conveyor belt, has been bricked up. The water tank on the other side, alongside the ditch, helped buffer the water supply system at Hembrug. Once it had been purified, this water was used for cooling in the processes, after which it was discharged into the ditches at Hembrug.
Present
It is currently the premises of designer Jim van der Lubbe, a former apprentice at the Hembrug in-company training centre. His studio creates high-quality interior and exterior designs, including bespoke pieces.
More information: http://jvanderlubbe.nl
Modular conveyor belt with 7.62 mm shells
There are 65 shells featuring the AI (Artillerie Inrichtingen) mark in the modular conveyor belt. All cartridges were fired.
Built in 1905, national monument
Past
This was the store for the munitions assembly department (MSLW). Things like machine components, spraying moulds, and casting moulds were kept here. Because of its architectural style and the hens wandering about, this building was nicknamed the ‘big farm’ and the adjacent building the ‘little farm.’ It is built of brick with diagonal brickwork and ornamental masonry. The lifting beam above the big door on the top floor reveals its former function as a munitions store.
Present
Two businesses are currently based here.
Dofine supplies bespoke & basic frame finishes, wall finishes and wall art, as well as exclusive and innovative interior design.
More information: www.dofine.nl
Wonderwall Studios designs and produces wooden wall panels for every interior.
More information: www.wonderwallstudios.com
Trolley from the explosives warehouse
The wheels of the trolley are made of wood in connection with the risk of explosion. After all, friction from metal can cause sparks.
The Zaans Museum was founded in 1998 on the Zaanse Schans to guard and preserve the Zaan heritage.
The Hembrug Museum tells the story of the arms and ammunition factory that was located on the Hembrugterrein in Zaandam.
In 1697, the Russian Tsar Peter the Great stayed in this world-famous house in the center of Zaandam.
