Biography
Johann Ernst Elias Bessler was born in 1680 near Zittau as the son of a day labourer. The exact date is not known. The year is not even certain, because in a church directory the year of his baptism
is apparently noted as 1679. Another source speaks of 1681. Zittau belonged to Bohemia up to the Thirty Years' War. In 1635, in the course of the Prague Peace treaty, Upper Lusatia was assigned to the state of Saxony. This fact is mentioned because the historical contexts are not presented correctly on some English-language websites. Bessler is called Bohemian there, although it is easy to see that Zittau had been Saxon for 45 years at the time of his birth. There are others who, without further explanation, announce a German-Polish origin. Zittau is now in the border triangle Germany/Poland/Czech Republic. Like Görlitz, it had to cede the part of the city to the east of the Neisse to Poland in 1945.
Bessler proves to be multi-talented and above-average intelligent, even in childhood. The then headmaster of the Zittau Gymnasium, Christian Weise*), took him under his wing and promoted him to his best.
*) Christian Weise was the headmaster of the grammar school in Zittau from 1678 to 1708. The institution, founded in 1586 as a “Latin School”, carries his name since 1993. Weise introduced German as the language of instruction. As a poet of the early Enlightenment, he wrote numerous stage plays, which he had his students perform. Since he was also head of the council library in Zittau, today's city and district library is also named after him.
It is said that Bessler studied medicine as a young man. It is unclear whether this was a university degree and whether he completed it successfully. Some reports say that he temporarily worked as a doctor. One of his patients, the youngest daughter of the mayor of Annaberg in Saxony, became his (first) wife.
Furthermore, it is reported that Bessler studied theology and painting and felt spiritually connected to Leonardo da Vinci. The latter had also dealt with the possibility of a “perpetuum mobile” about 200 years earlier, (presumably between 1480 and 1490). He left behind drawings that may have inspired Bessler. In any case, Bessler is said to have dealt with mechanics and architecture, similar to da Vinci, and have learned the watchmaking and milling trade as well as the organ building art. As a young man, Bessler also stayed in Prague for a while, where he maintained contacts with a Jesuit priest. This influence is said to have shaped him spiritually and oriented him scientifically. The plan to build a “perpetuum mobile” matured there and became his goal in life.
Bessler gave himself an artist name at an early stage. It was then in fashion to change ones name according to a process that is now known as ROT13. By writing the two halves of the alphabet (A to M and N to Z), each letter receives a second one with which it corresponds. ROT13 because so each character in the alphabet, consisting of 26 letters since the Renaissance, rotates around 13 places. A simple and easy to decipher encryption method.
By exchanging the letters, Bessler now became “Orffyre ” or latinized “Orffyreus ”. Creating a reference to the Latin language had been the tradition for centuries. Since Latin, then the scholarly language of the West, meant more prestige, many people adopted a Latin name, up to the 18th century. Where this was possible, it was translated from the German without further ado. Georg Bauer became the famous Georgius Agricola, for example. After renaming himself, Bessler had everyone call him Orffyreus throughout his life, and always signed his letters, documents, etc. with this name. This was obviously important to him, because his increased need for admiration and recognition has often been documented.
After ten years of research, Bessler surprised his environment at the age of 32 with the sensational news that he had figured out the secret of eternal movement. On the 6th of June 1712, in Gera/Thuringia,
on the premises of the “Richter Freihaus”, he presented for the first time a weight-driven wheel that turned for an unlimited time.
The town of Gera after the great fire of 1686. The arrow designates the Richter Freihaus.
Copyright: City Museum Gera
As you can see, only about a third of the houses were spared from the disaster to the west of the town hall. (The second devastating fire of 1780 caused even greater damage and destroyed almost everything.) The Richter Freihaus is the place where Bessler's wheel was presented to an audience for the first time in 1712. “Freihaus” used to have a privileged status. They often belonged to nobles who did not need to pay taxes to the city where the house was located and which was directly subject to the jurisdiction of the respective country. As the largest town house of Gera constructed of stone on the Nicolausberg, only its wooden components, including the roof, were destroyed during the fire of 1686. The outer walls remained for another 150 years. The Salvatorkirche shown in the next picture is naturally not yet visible here. It was only later built on the narrow side of the Richter House facing the viewer directly on the mountain. Its northern parts of the wall had to be removed for this. East of the mountain, which is somewhat wider in reality, were well in the 19th century, mostly only agriculturally used areas.
Currently, it is not clear whether the Richter House remained a complete ruin after the first big fire. Documents which could clearly provide information about this were not found despite extensive research by the author. From the documents of the Thuringian State Archives in Greiz, it can be seen that Reinhold Richter, on 22. November 1675, acquired the building for 300 talers. The next registration dates back to 5. February 1716. According to the certificate of inheritance from that day, his son Conrad Richter inherited the Freihaus after Reinhold Richter's death. This man, a captain, was bankrupted shortly thereafter with the estate. The building, which was separated from the bankruptcy estate, was then acquired by the municipal quarter masters for 400 guilders as a preparatory measure for the planned construction of the Salvator Church. At this point, it is reported, the Richter building is said to have been predominantly in very poor condition.
In this context, it is conceivable that only a small part of the building was restored after the fire of 1686, because Reinhold Richter still had a second house in Gera, where he also lived. Perhaps he left Bessler a lockable room on the fire grounds so that he could carry out his experiments undisturbed there. Since Bessler reports in his apologia that he was “found the miracle work at Richter's on the Nickelsberg), the building cannot have been a complete ruin in 1712. By the way, the inventor mentions that he had previously rented another room in Gera, but that the house owner soon started complaining about the noise, which was obviously not always avoidable in Bessler's experiments.
Whether it was a partial ruin or not, the place offered enough space for the performance and was also private. This allowed a selection of spectators. The common people had no access at the first event, since the “dignified lordships” and the other “persons of standing” wanted to stay among themselves. The Nicolausberg is now called Nicolaiberg and is located in the centre of today's city of Gera.
The Salvator Church in Gera, a view from 1830. Left the ruined remains of Richter's building. Source: City Archives of Gera.
Five years after Bessler's performance was held, on 24. August 1717, the foundation stone for the Salvator Church was laid on Nicolausberg. For the subsequent building, northern parts of the Richter House had to give way to the new building. (The remains on the left were removed completely in 1837.) The church built in the Baroque style, was inaugurated in 1720. Only 60 years later, the second big fire of Gera caused serious damage. The building was subsequently rebuilt several times, now has an art nouveau interior design and is currently considered the most important church of Gera. On the right side, the tall “Schreiber House” is to be seen. It was the only building in Gera to be spared from the second large fire and now houses the Natural History Museum. Schreiber was a wealthy merchant. Among other things, he owned the agricultural areas in the foreground. In a historical plan from 1834, they are designated as “Schreibers Garden”.
Above, a current photo of the Salvator Church, seen from the southwest. One can see that the building is standing on a hill and that you must first climb the stairs to reach the entrance. On the right, the road leads up Nicolaiberg. After approx. 50 metres, it passes where Richter's house was located at that time and where Bessler's wheel experienced its world premiere. (The stone parapet on the right edge of the picture as well as its location to the street are important for the next photo.)
Extract from Bessler's Apologia. (Freely translated from German verse into English prose):
At Richters' on the Nickelsberg,
I found the miracle.
In the year 12 and 17 hundred, (1712)
Everyone is very surprised.
From my diligence the curse gave way,
My work was two and a half shoes high.*
It stood freely and so,
That everyone could walk around it.
On unfastening a bolt,
The wheel ran like lightning.
Whoever wished to, could push it around,
Wherever they wanted to go.
There was no fraud at all,
So no sorrow hit me.
*) Bessler's Apologia, page 44: “Mein Werck war hoch drittehalb Schuch” - See enzyklo.de : “drittehalb" outdated expression for two and a half.
This photo shows exactly the place where Richter's house stood at that time. From the elevated terracous ground of the Salvatorkirche, you can look over the parapet and the street “Nicolaiberg” at the other side. Under the tree, parts of the city walls that were integrated into the Richter House at the time can be seen. It ends at the sidewalk, because Nicolaiberg would otherwise be a dead end. Since it would have been in the way of the construction of the church, it was removed here.
There is a remnant of a wall, which departs at right angles from the city wall and which can be seen enlarged in the photo above, which is probably a remaining part of Richter's house.
The wheel had a diameter of two and a half shoes, (1 shoe of 30 cm). It started to spin quickly once the lock was released. As reported by Bessler, the onlookers were allowed to take a close look at the wheel and push it around as desired. In this way, everyone could be convinced that there was no hidden power transmission. The Princely House of Reuß-Gera issued a certificate in October 1712, in which it was certified that the wheel actually worked as claimed. The text of this document can be found in “The Certificate of Gera" article.
By Zedler, (historical universal lexicon), the following is reported in volume 27 from page 283:
A Great reputation has come after 1712 to Mr. Orffyrey, a practiced Mathematicus and Mechanicus in Saxony, since after ten-years of hard work, he finally claimed to have invented and constructed a perpetuum mobile in the said year in Gera in the Voigtlande, of which the first model was 2 and a half Leipzig cubits in the diameter and 4 inches in width, was also able to lift several pounds, which he demonstrated publicly in the presence of the Princely rulers and other people of standing, as well as to renowned Mathematicis and Mechanicis, and showed it also being brought from one place to another and moved around.
1 Leipziger cubit x 56,6 centimeters. The diameter of the Gera wheel would have been 141.5 centimeters. Zedler is probably referring to the data in the “Thorough Report”, published in Leipzig in December 1715.
On page 6 you can read, “.... three and a half Leipzig cubits in Diametro and 4 inches in thickness, on the 6. Junii of the year 1712th for the first time ...”.
This is in contradiction with Bessler's Apologie, whose creation is dated 1716 to 1717 and which Bessler wrote himself in first-person form. As already reported above, it says on page 44, “My work was high third half shoes”, that is 75 centimeters.
Why should Bessler have made his Gera wheel sound smaller than it actually was? This makes no sense, especially because Bessler was constantly looking for admiration. Johann Adam Caff, who had investigated the Gera wheel as an expert in 1712 (see “Attestation of Gera”), would certainly have objected to a flawed description.
In the “Thorough Report”, unlike the Apologie, Orffyreus is only mentioned in third person form. The author therefore doubts that the text of this publication comes from Bessler's own pen. The authors probably confused shoe with cubit.
For the thesis that the Gera wheel was larger, the “TRIUMPHANS PERPETUUM MOBILE ORFFYREANUM” is occasionally cited. There, on the page 107, there is mention of “5. Foot in Diameter”.
There are two inconsistencies here. For the first, the text on page 107 is a “Just adaption”, see above. In other words, it is the re-publication of other articles on the topic of perpetual motion. Bessler had nothing to do with their formulations.
Secondly, before the word “foot”, there is a number 5, written in a different font, followed by a point. The publications to be found on the Internet are, without exception, digitized. Documents that have been scanned. It is often the case that whenever the text recognition could not identify the word or the sign, it is reproduced in a different font. This may have been the case here with the “5.”. The point behind the “5” does not make sense. It would be conceivable that the original read “2.5 feet”.
In any case, the author stipulates that the Gera wheel had a diameter of (only) 75 centimetres. This is also supported by the fact that the Gera population suspected a spring drive and spoke of a toy. People doubted that Bessler would be able to build such a wheel “in large”.
When researching this biography, the author tried to process only authentic data. Because of the contradictions described above, this was undoubtedly not possible with the diameter of the Gera wheel. However, this detail does not have any impact on the answer to the question that dominates the entire website, namely how Bessler's wheel worked.
After the wheel had been presented to the “noble lordships” and the other “persons of standing”, the general population also gained access. The people were impressed, but did not really recognize the importance of this invention. There were critics and doubters who thought the whole thing was a trick. They believed the wheel was driven by a previously wound-up spring. Bessler, who had hoped for an appreciative admiration for the result of his experimental research, was frustrated. He had not expected such ignorance. To make matters worse, his invention soon became a kind of funfair attraction. People demanded that he show his wheel again and again on Sundays and holidays for the purpose of popular amusement. He disliked this, because he did not feel taken seriously, but pushed into the role of an impostor. Since he had the impression that nothing would change, he took the decision to leave Gera.
In 1713, Bessler moved to Draschwitz. It is located north-northeast of Zeitz on route B2. Here he constructed his next gravitational wheel. Clearly larger than that of Gera. It now had a diameter of three metres and had to be permanently slowed down with a rope guided around it if it were to come to a standstill. When the rope was loosened, the wheel began to turn, automatically accelerated up to a speed of about 50 rpm and then continued its course for any length of time. The new dimensions were Bessler's reaction to the fact that he had been told in Gera that his wheel was more of a children's toy, and he would not be able to build such an object “in large”.
Historical portrait of the manor, where Bessler stayed in Draschwitz from 1713 to 1714 and where both Moritz Wilhelm of Saxe-Zeitz and Gottfried Leibniz personally took a close look at the wheel.
There may have been a relationship between the residents and Besslers, so that they granted him accommodation there and gave him the opportunity to build his new wheel. However, he was increasingly subjected to tributeing accusations by critics who became a psychological strain on him and attacked his health. In the following years he fell seriously ill.
Aerial picture of Draschwitz. The yellow arrow marks the place where Bessler was able to stay in a manor.
The news of the huge “Perpetuum Mobile” quickly spread and thus also reached Moritz Wilhelm of Saxe-Zeitz, in whose duchy Draschwitz was located.*) He visited Bessler on the 14th July 1714 to inspect the invention in person. The Duke was extremely impressed by the performance and reported to the mathematician Leibniz on his inspection only days later. On this occasion, he invited him to his residence palace to give him the opportunity to get to know Bessler's wheel.
*) The Duchy of Saxe-Zeitz at that time included Weida as well as the nearby Neustadt an der Orla. Furthermore, the Vogtland district with Plauen and Pausa, the communities of Arnshaug and Ziegenrück. Also Tautenburg, Frauenprießnitz and Niedertrebra, as well as part of the County of Henneberg with the towns of Schleusingen and Suhl.
The former hall of the manor still exists today. Here is a photo of the present. It is the same building to which the arrow in the above aerial image points.
Gottfried Leibniz initially considered a machine with constant movement impossible, because in his opinion this contradicted the laws of nature. In autumn 1714, he came for four weeks to Zeitz by invitation of Moritz Wilhelm and also paid a visit to Bessler from there. After inspecting the wheel and experimenting with it, he proclaimed that it actually worked. His initial skepticism turned into admiration. He called Bessler his friend, although he did not let him in on the mystery of the hidden mechanism. Leibniz was therefore dependent on speculation and initially took the view that the drive had to be achieved with compressed air. After acknowledging the fact that the movement actually took place for hours, he concluded that there must be a force acting from outside that kept the wheel moving. Although he had hit the nail on the head, he mentally did not establish any connection to earth's gravity. Physics still disputes such a connection today and simply denies that Bessler's wheel could ever have worked.
During demonstrations, the interior of the wheel was always covered by Bessler with an oilcloth. In the absence of existing patent laws, according to his statement, everyone could have copied it. This measure apparently served to safeguard economic interests, because Bessler had the firm intention to turn his invention into money. But it was also the reason why people remained suspicious and the secrectiveness was considered to be an indicator of deceit. The endless movement of the wheel quickly led to the manifestation of the same suspicion, which had already become loud in Gera. It was concluded that it could only be a mean juggler trick, with which people were being fooled.
Thus the story was repeated, the number of critics grew. Among them Andreas Gärtner (1654-1727), a capable and experienced engineer from Dresden, who had studied in Bologna and worked at the Saxon court of “August the Strong”*). Among other things, Gärtner created the World Time Clock, which can still be admired today in the Dresden Zwinger. He also built all kinds of mechanical toys. Ironically also automata with hidden energy supply. Described by his contemporaries as “Saxon Archimedes”, Gärtner was a respected personality. No wonder that he considered Bessler to be a perfect nobody that needed to be sounded out.
*) “August the Strong", as the Saxons admiringly called and still call their sovereign, was born on 12.5.1670 in Dresden as Friedrich August I. After his older (first-born) brother died unexpectedly in 1694, he took over his office as Elector of Saxony. Three years later, as August II, he also became king of Poland. Militarily remarkably unsuccessful, he achieved dubious fame through great pomp, a dissolute life and especially by approx. 300 children he had fathered with his numerous mistresses. Culturally, he has had a lasting influence on his country, however, thereby ruining public finances. He died on 1.2.1733 in Warsaw.
Gärtner's hostile attitude towards Bessler probably finds its explanation in the fact that he himself, together with the court jeweller Melchior Dinglinger (1664-1731), dealt with the development of a Perpetuum Mobile, and had so far failed. Bessler may therefore have been an annoying competitor for him. He initially pursued him with ridicule and then with increasing hatred. He spread vicious rumors, slandered Bessler in various inflammatory pamphlets as a fraudster and was thus responsible for the fact that Bessler's image was getting worse among the population. In the following years, however, Bessler was also exposed to other persons' increasingly crude hostilities and evil spite, which wore down his psyche. In addition, the Draschwitz estate was to be sold because of economic difficulties, but no buyer could be found. As a result of these depressing circumstances, Bessler became seriously ill. In his apologia it says:
Shortly hereafter,
in Draschwitz, I became fatally ill.
After he recovered with God's help, according to his own description, he turned his back on Draschwitz at the end of 1714. After a short stopover in Obergreißlau near Weißenfels, he then moved to Merseburg at Easter 1715. He was already working on a successor to his wheel. This time it was to become one that could turn in both directions. With this he wanted to counteract the suspicions, it could be a spring drive, after all, that kept the wheel moving. It succeeded. The new wheel had a diameter of 3.50 metres and a thickness of 30 centimeters. In contrast to its predecessors, it only rotated about half as fast as its predecessors and did not start automatically. It had to be pushed to start it. But it did, in fact, turn both left and right.
Current aerial view of Merseburg. Source: www.windtour.de
The large square building in the upper part of the picture (on the right) is the cathedral with the adjacent three-winged castle. In the latter resided, among others, the aforementioned Duke Moritz Wilhelm of Saxe-Merseburg. Behind the castle you can see the Saale, which flows north. The road to Leipzig leads eastwards across it. The “Green Court” was located further upstream on the southern edge of the city between the Saale and the road to Leuna. (See separate plan.)
But here, too, Bessler could not enjoy his success for long. Gärtner had already homed in on him and schemed against him wherever he was able to do so. On the morning of the 22nd July 1715, himself, Christian Wagner of Leipzig and the later Saxon mining council, Johann Gottfried Borlach*), invaded the Merseburg house of Bessler in order to see the interior of the wheel and thus expose the alleged fraud. This would even then have violated the applicable law as an instance of breaking and entering. The fact that Gärtner defied it makes it clear how pronounced his feelings of hatred must have been. Bessler, who was in bed with a bad migraine, could not prevent it in the face of the superiority of three people. However, he had apparently removed relevant parts. (Probably the steel springs, which thereby could be stored in a relaxed state.) In any case, Gärtner did not find a working wheel and felt confirmed in his assumptions. Convinced of having the truth on his side, he announced all over the country that the fraud was now documented.
Moritz Wilhelm of Saxe-Merseburg
Copyright: Merseburg City Archives
Bessler's reputation once again was in danger. Fortunately, his sovereign lord, Moritz Wilhelm of Saxe-Merseburg, was an educated and sympathetic man. The Duke gave instructions to hold a public examination of Bessler's wheel in Merseburg. This was intended to put an end to the allegations of fraud. He arranged for a commission of experts to be formed to carry out the review. In addition, it was ordered that the location of the wheel was to be changed during the test to rule out that a hidden transmission of external force was the cause of the movement.
Bessler was very satisfied with this development and prepared himself with thorough care for the event. At the venue, a wooden box with bricks was prepared, which was to be pulled upwards with a rope by his wheel. For this purpose, a rope pulley was attached to a rafter, over which the rope would run and, at the other end, wrap itself around the axle of the wheel. In previous experiments, Bessler had found that a load of 70 pounds could be raised in this way. He looked forward to the test with confidence, because he hoped for an increase in popularity, which would help him with the planned sale of his invention.
*) Borlach, born in Dresden in 1687, lived in Leipzig at the same time in question as Wagner. Two documents from him are known, in which he critically dealt with Bessler. He also considered him a fraudster and explained why he did not believe Perpetua Mobilia could function. In a drawing, he hypothetically conveyed how Bessler might have deceived people. You can see a person keeping the wheel in movement via a rope from a neighbouring room. His activities contributed significantly to the examination of Merseburg, ordered by Duke Moritz Wilhelm, which is described in the following text.
Due to the joint opposition to Bessler,
Borlach became more familiar with Gärtner. He provided him with a job at the Saxon court, where he soon gained recognition and was made responsible for salt mining operatios. Borlach made major contributions in this area and is considered, for example, the as the discoverer of the brine springs in Kösen (later Bad Kösen) and in Dürrenberg (today Bad Dürrenberg). Especially in the latter place, Borlach's memory is kept in great regard. The city of Bad Dürrenberg maintains a museum named after him, the “Borlach Museum”, located at “Borlach Square”. The processing of brine to the salt is shown there. There is also a “Borlach Tower”, which is known as the landmark of the city.
At the top you can see a memorial plate
with the portrait of Borlach attached to this tower. He died in Kösen at the age of 81.
Historical plan of Merseburg
This public inspection took place on 31. October 1715 in the “Green Court” near the Sixti ruin.
Merseburg is considered one of the oldest cities in Central Germany. In 989 Otto I founded a diocese here. The bishops have left their mark on the city over the centuries. Particularly noteworthy is Thilo von Trotha (1466-1514). The redesign of the three-winged castle adjacent to the cathedral goes back mainly to him. He also plays an inglorious role in the so-called raven legend.
Martin Luther preached in the Merseburg Cathedral in 1545, thereby accelerating the end of Catholic supremacy. In 1561 the Benedictine monastery was dissolved and later also partly demolished.
The “Green Court” was the estate of a wealthy family in Merseburg, who was well known to the Duke and was therefore asked by him to have the inspection carried out on their site. Since the weather could not be predicted in advance for the day of the event, a closed space was needed that also offered enough room for the many visitors and onlookers.
The Green Court had these prerequisites. It was located outside the city wall opposite the cemetery. The latter had been created in front of the sixtitor during a plague epidemic in 1581. The church of the same name was already a ruin in Bessler's time. Destroyed during the Thirty Years' War, it has never been rebuilt up to the present day. A photo of the ruins and further details of the Green Court can be found in the article “Contemporary Witnesses”.
The following protocol from the Commission records how the review took place. The report was reformulated for better understanding into modern German, and then translated into English:
“The inventor set the wheel in motion which had a diameter of 6 Leipzig cubits (3.40 m) and a thickness of a shoe (30 cm). It rested on the same wooden frame that had been used earlier for this purpose. It was stopped and, frequently re-started in either direction, just as the individual members of the Commission wanted it to be done. The machine was set in motion with a slight push and accelerated independently as soon as the first weight inside the wheel had fallen down. Two fingers were enough for this initial push. After a complete revolution, the wheel achieved a strong and even rotational motion. This was also the case when the machine raised a box weighing about 70 pounds, which was filled with bricks. The latter was achieved with a rope that was led out of the window. In the presence of the commission, the inventor lifted the whole wheel off its frame. The wooden posts and the suspension, including the iron bearings, were thoroughly examined. No evidence of any fraud could be found.
Then the location of the wheel was changed, with every detail under close observation. The machine was then set in motion again in both directions and was as powerful as before. The movement was accompanied by the loud sounds of the inner mechanism. However, these stopped as soon as the machine came to a standstill. It is particularly noted that before the committee began the investigation, the room above and below as well as on both sides of the site were examined. No evidence for a belt drive or anything similar was found.”
The Minutes have the signatures of the 12 commissioners. The most famous were:
Friederich Hoffmann, Medical Professor and Founder of the University of Halle,
Christian Wolff, student of Leibniz and Professor at the University of Halle,
Johann Mencke, professor of history at the University of Leipzig,
Christoph Semler, founder of the first German secondary school,
Christoph Buchta, court advisor of the Duke of Saxe-Zeitz and friend of Leibniz.
Johann Adam Caff, master builder of Saxony-Weissenfels, Mathematician and Engineer*)
*) Caff had already examined the first “Perpetuum Mobile” on behalf of the Princely House of Reuß-Gera in 1712 and had finally ruled out a fraud. (See The Certificate of Gera.)
There is a longer report in Zedler (historical universal lexicon):
Because he now had endured all kinds of abuse, slander, false allegations and destruction of his invention, he finally presented in the year 1715, on October 31st, to commissioners and witnesses, whereupon at the request of His Princely Highness The Duke of Merseburg, the Lord Julius Bernhard von Rohr, along with a secretary, were designated as commissioners, who were joined by many royal officials, as well as many noble and learned spectators; as there were Mr. Bohze, Saxon privy councillor, Mr Leidenfrost, Saxon councillor, professor Hoffmann, councillor Wolf from Halle, Mr. Buchda councillor of Zeitz, Mr. D. Joh. Burckhardt Mencke, from Leipzig, Mr. county councillor Hübner, from Merseburg, M. Semmler, deacon of Ulrichs-Church, from Halle, Mr. Benit and Mr. Wollbaum, Mathematician and others, of which everyone examined the work and issued for the inventor a written certificate under all their names, on said 31st October 1715, whereby they state that the machine, which was 6 cubits in the diameter and a shoe in thickness, several times was made to turn left and right, just as the commissioners and spectators demanded, with very little help, with two fingers, without the slightest force, as soon as only one of the weights which were concealed in this artful wheel fell, the machine by and by achieved a strong constant movement, also a box with 6 building bricks, together 70 pounds heavy, was lifted with a rope going out of one window to the roof, and from there several fathoms down into the courtyard as often as it was demanded, lifted up to the roof and requiring great force to stop its motion, let alone, that the Inventor took the machine off its bearings, everything was inspected, and at no places the least Fucus*) could be observed.
*) fucus (lat.) illusion, falsehood
Needless to say, the celebrities mentioned were not the only ones who had followed the process. The examination of the Bessler's wheel was an occasion of great public interest and attracted many onlookers. One should have assumed that the doubts had now been removed for all time, but that was not the case. After a few weeks had gone by, the opponents became active again and spread the old suspicions among the people. Bessler could have put an end to this once and for all and revealed the secret of his drive, but he could not bring himself to do that. The constant attacks permanently damaged his self-esteem and afflicted him mentally. It is reported that he suffered from serious depression in the following years. He was also annoyed by the Merseburg magistrate, who taxed him with 6 penny per day. Bessler had begun to demand entrance fees from onlookers for the demonstration of the wheel. The city of Merseburg therefore regarded the invention as an commercial enterprize.
Most severely, however, the investigation against Bessler's wife and his maid for the joint killing of a newborn (extra-marital) child was resumed at this time on behalf of the electoral instructions and now rigidly conducted. (This fact is described in more detail in connection with the affair of the maid below.) Since the Dresden court did not issue this instruction until years after the incident, the presumption is obvious that this happened due to the influence of Andreas Gärtner, who was in good standing there. He obviously pursued the goal of now causing lasting harm to Bessler. After his invention was publicly rehabilitated in Merseburg, Gärtner's hatred had noticeably further increased.
In order to protect the two ladies from prosecution by the Saxon jurisdiction, Bessler decided to turn his back on his homeland permanently. Landgrave Carl of Hesse-Cassel had already offered him some time earlier to come to Cassel*). He therefore accepted the invitation and moved his place of residence there in early summer 1716. He did not take the wheel with him, but destroyed it. With a diameter of three and a half metres, it would not only have been difficult to transport on more than 200 kilometres of road, but would not have been protected at night from curious contemporaries. In those days, such a move by horse-drawn carriage took several days.
*) Cassel has been called Kassel since 1926. Carl was also “renamed” in Karl posthumously. Since this spelling of the Landgrave has prevailed in historiography and literature, it will be used exclusively here.
.
Karl of Hesse-Kassel
(1654-1730)
Karl was made aware of Bessler's invention by Leibniz. Since he was a technically interested person and felt a strong fascination for innovations, he granted the inventor a stay at Weißenstein Castle and encouraged him to build a new wheel. He appointed Bessler as a councillor of commerce and paid him a salary. However, Karl attached it to the condition that the inventor would initiate him into his secret. Bessler, who was now in a dependency, basically had no choice. After Karl had promised not to reveal anything to anyone, he agreed. He soon started working and completed a new wheel in August 1717. The Landgrave was allowed to look inside of it and was surprised at the simplicity of the mechanism. His reaction: “Very amazing that no one else figured it out. Any carpenter's apprentice would be able to build it.”
In the meantime, however, Bessler's arch-enemy Gärtner had not remained idle, but had continued his hateful activity against him. He obviously had planned to purposely work on ruining Bessler. He published several smear copies that were intended to further ruin his reputation and which it was indeed not suitable to ignore. Gärtner's tactic was to challenge Bessler in a way that he would probably not be able to ignore, but would be suitable according to Gärtner's plan to permanently discredit Bessler. Gärtner publicly demanded that Bessler's machine be subjected to a four-week long-term test. During this time nobody should be allowed to touch the wheel. After all, a permanent movement was what Bessler himself had always claimed his wheel to be capable of. Should he succeed at this, Bessler was to receive 1000 Taler from Gärtner. However, in the event of a failure, Bessler was to pay the same amount to Gärtner. A clever plan that was intended to make Gärtner rich, and at the same time to financially ruin Bessler and destroy his reputation for all time. This now produced a similar situation as the one that had led to the carrying out of the test in Merseburg.
Bad Karlshafen. In the middle of the houses the harbour basin.
The era at Schloss Weißenstein was thus over for Bessler. His new residence (north of Kassel) was founded in 1699, was initially called Sieburg and was renamed “Carlshaven” only four years before his move. Karl had a port on the river Weser built here (hence the new name), and from now on had goods transported from there by land to Kassel. In this way, Hanoverian Münden was circumvented, which had previously exercised its stacking right and thereby delayed and rendered goods transported by way of the Weser and the Fulda more expensive. Karl felt this was a great annoyance, but did not want to provoke a conflict with the Electorate of Hanover.
Weissenstein Castle. Painting by Tischbein senior
So it came as intended by Gärtner. In order to not lose face, Bessler accepted the challenge. He asked the Landgrave for support for a long-term test. After the preparations were completed, on 12th November 1717, initially a commission
thoroughly checked that Bessler's wheel at Weissenstein Castle was properly set up. They not only followed the process of the examination as done in Merseburg, and inspected the wheel bearings and the neighbouring rooms, but also demanded that his wheel be moved to another place before all eyes. Then the room was sealed and permanently guarded.
On the 4th of January 1718 the test was completed. The wheel had survived whole and still moved the wooden rammers as reliably as it did at the beginning of the test. A total of 54 days had passed, i.e. a much longer time than Gärtner had demanded. Bessler triumphed.
In the following years, Bessler wrote several books that dealt exclusivly with his invention. He wanted to become known beyond the borders of Germany and in this way find a buyer for his “Perpetuum Mobile”. Landgrave Karl continued to hold his protective hand over him. He was the only one who knew his secret. By the way, he kept the promise not to betray it to anyone until his death (1730). In 1721, he left to Bessler a house in Carlshaven, where he lived with his family from then on.
The keystone of an entrance door that adorns the Schäfer bookstore at Conradistraße 2. It was a matter of importance to the owner of the house to honour the former fellow citizen of his town in this way.
The construction of an artificial waterway from Carlshaven via Cassel to Marburg was soon begun to create a connection from the Weser via the Lahn to the Rhine. For this purpose, the lower course of the Diemel, which flows into the Weser at that point, was used as the beginning. It was made navigable as far as to Trendelburg. Then the actual channel began, which, however, had to struggle with low water levels from the beginning and was therefore only navigated up to Hümme during four years. There would have only been enough water available after the establishment of a connection to the Fulda . When Karl died in 1730, the project was no longer pursued due to the high cost of it.
In 1730, saline water was discovered in Carlshaven. However, the city received the attribute “Bad” (Spa) only in 1977.
Karlshafen is located in the far north of Hesse exactly where the latter forms a border triangle with North Rhine-Westphalia and Lower Saxony. The Weser is also the border here, the Weserbergland begins to the north. The later mentioned Fürstenberg is only approx. 15 kilometres away, but is already in Lower Saxony.
In the foreground the harbour basin. The red arrow refers to Bessler’s former house, which today houses the “ Café Sieburg” in 34385 Bad Karlshafen, Hafenplatz10-12. It borders directly on the town hall to the right. There is said to have been a secret door between the two buildings, which Bessler occasionally used to listen in on the city council. He was constantly concerned that something was being fabricated against him. And this was not entirely unfounded, because he had made himself unpopular with the council lords by numerous submissions to Landgrave Karl. Since he complained about subjective grievances in Carlshaven, again and again, he was considered a notorious troublemaker.
Bessler's house was sold by his widow after his death. At the end of this biography you will find the text of an advertisement placed by her at the time in the “Braunschweig gazette”. It contains a description of the individual living rooms, the rear building and the garden as well as the associated meadows and farmland. The farm entrance with the half-opened right wing is described in the list as a “large gateway”. Here you used to reach the stable by horse-drawn carriage. Today it is the access to rental apartments in the rear building. On the left edge of the picture is the entrance to the café.
Aerial view of Karlshafen harbour, taken before the 2. World war. Seen from above, a no longer usable waterway to the left leads to the Diemel, through which water still flows into the harbour. For this to work, the Diemel is stowed somewhat upstream and the water is guided to the port in a channel running parallel to the river. To the right, below the road bridge (which was initially a drawbridge and then a swing bridge) is a weir, which determines the water level in the harbour. Excess water flows over it and passes through the abandoned harbour lock to the Weser.
Karlshafen Today
Above, the formerly navigable connection to the Diemel. The road bridge visible in the background was also a drawbridge. The water flowing into the harbour thereby ensures a steady exchange in the harbour basin, which, by the way, was not always flooded.
In its almost three hundred years of history, the port was temporarily drained and served as a pasture for goats. Today it is a visual attraction for spa guests and tourists.
A view of the former harbour lock. The permanently slightly open gate allows the water to flow from the harbour into the Weser.
This photo shows the lock gate from the river side.
Gärtner, who had heard of the move to Carlshaven, assumed that Bessler was no longer under the protection of the Landgrave. He soon published his next inflammatory writing and continued to insist on being in the right, without any change. However, the publication no longer found the hoped-for resonance. Filled with bitterness, Gärtner died in February 1727. Above a memorial table set up in his birthplace, Quatitz, which honours his memory. The name Zahrodnik documents its Sorbian origin. The word is the Sorbian translation for “gardener” (German: Gärtner). His portrait shows that he was not a happy person.
Peter the Great (1672-1725)
Bessler had the intention to sell his invention. He demanded the then unimaginably large sum of 100,000 thalers. According to today's purchasing power, some 5 million euros would be the equivalent sum. As a councillor of commerce, Bessler received an annual salary of 300 thalers. By contrast, 100,000 were stunning. There were some interested parties, but hardly anyone was willing or able to pay such a high price. The most prominent interested buyer was Tsar Peter the Great. On the occasion of a spa stay in Bohemia, he had heard about the invention and wanted to make a trip to Carlshaven especially so that he could look at the machine there. However, that never happened, because in February 1725 the tsar died unexpectedly from the complications of a urinary tract infection.
Isaac Newton (1643-1727)
At about the same time, a community of interests was formed in London that was willing to buy the invention. It is assumed that Newton belonged to this group of people, but did not want to become visible himself. However, the acquisition was attached to a condition. Landgrave Karl was to receive the money in trust. The interior of the wheel was then to be inspected by Professor s'Gravesande (see contemporary witnesses), commissioned by the buyers. Only if there was actually a drive inside it, which guaranteed an eternal movement, should the money be handed over to Bessler. The latter was so enraged about this proposed procedure that he broke off all further talks and destroyed his wheel. So a sale did not take place, and nothing changed until Bessler's death.
Doubters see the destruction of the wheel today as proof that there was no functioning Perpetuum Mobile that Bessler could have sold. The indignation must have only been played, because there was objectively no reason for it. With such a large sum, it is quite legitimate that the buyer would have wanted a certain security. If Bessler had not agreed with this procedure, it would have been easy for him to reject the proposed procedure. However, the annoyance and destruction that he displayed, may have been the only way to pull himself out of the affair. Bessler might have set the price so astronomically high over the years so that he would never encounter the dilemma of selling. In this light, the fact that Bessler would have deliberately ignored the Russian tsar's tender is suspicious. In 1713, the tsar had awarded a sum of 30,000.- rubles for anyone that developed a functioning Perpetuum Mobile. The sceptics believe that, Bessler was addicted to receiving recognition, and he wanted exclusively to be publicly admired for his “invention”. It is postulated that this fit the repulsive fuss with “Orffyreus”. After the London group actually wanted to pay the required sum, there was no choice for him but to destroy the wheel in order to prevent any exposure of his fraud. If the English men had dropped the process that was initially required (so the doubters) to rescue the business, Bessler would no longer be able to pull his head out of the noose without destroying the wheel. He was absolutely aware that he could never have collected 100,000 thaler for a machine that in truth did not work. The affair would have been busted instantly, and he would have been thrown into prison. Probably this would have exposed the fraud during 's Gravesande's inspection, because he would have been specialist enough to not fall for a juggler trick. If Bessler had owned a functioning Perpetuum Mobile, he would have agreed immediately to the required procedure and would have become an extremely wealthy man overnight. It appears to contradict any life experience that someone who is so close to the goal of his life suddenly renounces everything just because of a question of style.
These observations are actually not devoid of a certain degree of conclusiveness and are suitable to overthrow an otherwise unwavering Bessler follower into doubt. Whether true or not, they make it clear that Bessler contributed greatly to generating distrust of himself again and again through his behaviour. The destruction of the wheel is another facet in his dazzling life and does not make it easy for a benevolent biographer to describe Bessler without any reservation as irreproachable and beyond all doubt. And this is not the end of inglorious deeds. Bessler later even went to prison for a short time.
However, the author does not tend to follow the fraud suspicions. It is probably true that Bessler had a mental problem. Sincewere people in his life that could not be counted among his friends, to put it mildly (think of Gärtner or of Wagner from Leipzig), he suffered from fears and feelings of inferiority. He was highly suspicious and obviously had the fear that after the inspection of his mechanism, one would find an excuse to not pay the purchase price. He would then have been cheated not only out of his money, but also out of the secret of his wheel.
These fears were certainly not completely unfounded, because according to Landgraf Karl, the inner structure of the wheel was quite simple. An inspection would therefore have been extremely sobering for the buyers. In this context, it is even conceivable that Bessler felt ashamed about disclosing the mechanism beforehand because its simplicity was in no reasonable proportion to the required sum. Perhaps he wavered in his decision, because he feared that the admiration would have an end if the wheel could suddenly have been recreated by everyone. His nimbus as an ingenious inventor so far had lived to a large extent from the functioning of his “Perpetuum Mobile” lying in the dark.
The process proposed by the Englishmen indicated that Bessler was not considered an honorary man without being checked, but was certainly considered to possibly be a fraudster. The destruction of the wheel could therefore also be assessed as a neurotic stubbornness, with which Bessler wanted to dramatically underline the extent of his hurt feelings and the finality of his decision. Hurt people sometimes do quite unreasonable and incomprehensible things.
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In the autumn of 1727, three years before the death of Karl, there was a scandal. Bessler's just recently dismissed maid, Anne Rosine Mauersberger, born in Drebach/Saxony, stated under oath that the long-term test at Weißenstein Castle had been a fraud from the beginning to the end. A long iron shaft in the ground apparently existed, over which the wheel was driven from a distant room via a second wheel. This second wheel was a so-called treadwheel, on which Bessler, herself and Bessler's brother had to walk on day and night for a pittance.
Before Ms. Mauersberger joined Bessler's service in 1711 as a maid, she worked in the same function with his parents-in-law, the mayor and his family, Dr. Christian Schuhmann in Annaberg/Saxony. (Her birthplace Drebach is only approx. 10 km away.) The youngest of the three Schuhmann daughters, Barbara Elisabeth, became Bessler's wife. Chroniclers report that before her connection with Bessler, she had given birth to an illegitimate child who was killed immediately after birth. At that time no rarity, because such an event meant great shame for the whole family. The fiancée and child's father had absconded during the pregnancy. Since the body of the newborn was found, the case caused a considerable sensation in Annaberg. Due to the urgent suspicion of having played a significant role in the killing, Ms. Mauersberger was arrested and thrown into prison. By means of a (intercepted) secret message, she made an attempt to contact the Schuhmann family in order to discuss her statement with them. This process sheds a significant light on her handling of the truth. For reasons that are no longer precisely comprehensible today, however, the trial was (initially) stopped and Ms. Mauersberger was released from custody. Probably Dr. Schuhmann, who was not only a respected mayor, but also a practicing physician in Annaberg, influenced it. His youngest daughter was not under suspicion from the beginning.*). On the other hand, his wife later found herself in the line of fire of the authorities.
*) As far as the facts could be resolved, the wife of the mayor, one of the older daughters and the maid Anne Rosine Mauersberger were involved in the killing. It is not known whether this joint action fulfilled the qualifying characteristics of murder under the law of the time. (The killing of an illegitimate child immediately after birth was regarded as a less serious crime in German legal history for a long time.) The child's mother was not actively involved in the crime. However, this would have been due to her weakened state directly after giving birth. It is not conceivable that the killing took place without her consent or against her declared will. So if she agreed, she may have been considered a perpetrator at that time, too.
It is assumed that the maid therefore entered Bessler's service in order to be able to turn her back on Annaberg and thus avoid another arrest. From her point of view, this was the right decision, because in 1716 the investigations were resumed in the matter of infanticide on electoral instructions and this time rigidly. Dr. Schuhmann had died in the meantime and could no longer protect his family. Since the resumption coincided exactly with Bessler's move from Saxony to Hesse, the concern about the impending prosecution was probably his real motivation to leave the Saxon homeland permanently. Augustus the Strong had access to the territory of Saxe-Merseburg as Elector of Saxony and could have had Ms. Mauersberger and/or Bessler's wife arrested and brought to justice there. Within the sphere of power of Landgrave Karl, he was not able to do that.
Ms. Mauersberger was considered quarrelsome and violent. It is reported that there were violent conflicts with her in the house of Bessler. At the time of her criminal complaint, she was 38 years old. She had experienced the development of the wheel in its various stages at firsthand. Since Bessler was often in economic needs and therefore could not afford a generous domicile, spatial constriction was normal. Ms. Mauersberger would therefore have known the usual daily routine of her master, his strengths and weaknesses, his virtues and vices, the plots, the conspiracies of the opponents and in particular the mechanical work on the wheel. It is hardly conceivable that Bessler covered the inside of the wheel every time his maid entered the room. At that time it was perfectly normal that servants knew about internel dealings of their lordships. But it was also clear that they had to maintain absolute silence. Those who leaked secrets did not get a job anywhere.
Spatial proximity meant that masters and maids occasionally maintained sexual relationships. Thus, Bessler is said to have maintained a love affair with Ms. Mauersberger for a time. Experience teaches us that men then get talkative and occasionally reveal things that they usually keep secret. It is therefore quite possible that the maid may have had expertise regarding the “perpetuum mobile”. In any case, the relationship between the two was of a quality that after the sickness and death of Bessler's wife, she had great hopes of being married by him. (Bessler's first wife died of tuberculosis in 1726.) He is said to have held out for a while, referring to the “year of mourning”. But when in 1727 it became clear that he would take another woman as his second wife, there were severe disagreements. Bessler was forced to dismiss the maid.
According to Schiller, “women turn into hyenas”. This is especially true in the case of spurned love. The dismissal seems to have been the last straw. It is therefore extremely obvious that the criminal complaint of the maid was an act of revenge with the aim of causing existential harm to her former employer. The author will establish an analysis of why this is almost certainly a lie. (See “The Maid's Lie.”) Due to the protocol signed by her, Bessler was arrested, but was soon thereafter released again. It is assumed that the arrest was made without the knowledge of Landgrave Karl and that the latter ordered the release of Bessler as soon as he heard about it.
In retrospect, it is unclear whether the reported facts violated any penalty standard at all or whether the detention was arbitrary. The deception of a group of experts regarding the function of an invention would hardly have been punishable. The assessment would be different if Bessler had gained a pecuniary advantage as a result of an act of deception. For example, if the sum promised by Gärtner had been paid to him, although the wheel did not work in reality, a real fraud would have existed, also according to today's understanding of the law. However, the author's research has not yet led to a clarification of the question of whether Gärtner ever paid his betting debt to Bessler. It would also be important to know whether there were statuary limitations for crimes at that time. Today, such a deed could no longer be persecuted after 10 years.
It is not known whether investigations were led against the maid concerning false suspicion or perjury. (Apparently, incrimination could already be sworn to oath by the police at that time.) Bessler's brother, who is said to have been involved in the manipulations according to her accusations and who could have either confirmed her statement or expounded it as untrue, was not findable. Landgrave Karl probably had no interest in publicly spreading the matter in court, because as a benefactor of Bessler, he was not only biased in this matter, but personally involved. He, who ten years earlier had convinced himself by looking at the mechanism that the allegations of fraud were unfounded, would then have had to testify as a witness. The cessation of the entire procedure was encouraged by the fact that Andreas Gärtner was already dead at this time. For him it would have been a real feast, and he would probably have tried to mobilize the population.
By the way, the already mentioned professor 'sGravesande was confronted with the history of the maid. Since he had sent a very positive report to Newton concerning his inspection of the wheel, the matter would have been well suited to harm his own reputation. He said: “I know that Orffyreus is crazy, but I don’t think he is a cheater. One thing I know like anything in the world: if the maid says the above, then she is lying.”
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Bessler lived for almost another two decades afterwards. He remained busy and partly moved his activities to the Duchy of Brunswick, which was only a few kilometres away.*)
*) The Weser formed the northern border of Hesse at Carlshaven then as now. In the east-west direction, on the other side of the river, there was a strip of land of only a few kilometres width, which belonged to the Electorate of Hanover. The Duchy of Brunswick extended to the north of it.
“Orffyreus' Mill” in Fürstenberg. Nature is already in the process of taking possession of the outside of the empty house.
On 30. November 1745, Bessler died at the age of 65 while working on the new windmill in Fürstenberg an der Weser due to a fall into the depths. As a designer of the building, he planned to use the frequently prevailing upwinds with a horizontally rotating vane. Due to his death, however, the building was never completed as planned, but then housed the first kiln of the princely porcelain factory founded by Carl I, Duke of Brunswick, in 1747.
One can see where the shaft of the vane was to be led through the roof at the highest point. Because nothing became of it, the chimney of the stove has been led through instead. The latter is still there, but the chimney was removed and the roof opening was closed with sheet metal.
The lower two floors are surrounded by 1 metre thick sandstone walls. This was obviously necessary to ensure a sufficient stability of the mill. The half-timbered part of the upper part and the construction of the roof were made of solid oak wood. The building is still covered with the original sandstone shingles.
The building is protected as a historical monument and is in need of renovation, especially on the inside. The cost of a complete renovation is likely to amount to half a million euros. The municipality of Fürstenberg currently offers the building for 1 euro for purchase and hopes for a strong investor. Maybe there is someone who is interested in it. It would be desirable that this is a historically conscious person, or perhaps even an admirer of Bessler.
It is an irony of fate, that gravity not only did not bring Bessler any luck, it even took his life by way of the accident. He took the secret of his wheel to his grave. It is pointless to speculate afterwards whether he might have revealed it if death had announced itself in a timely fashion and had not visited him so unexpectedly.
The following is the text of an advertisement published by Bessler's widow in January 1747 in the “Braunschweigische Anzeigen”. The reference to the faraway Brunswick resulted from the fact that Fürstenberg belonged to the Duchy of Brunswick at this time.
“There is for sale a quite beautiful massive well-designed domestic residence in the small Hessian town of Carlshafen, left to the heirs of councillor of commerce Orfireus. This house has two floors, the lower one having 1 well proportioned hall, along with a large gateway, and on the right side 1 large living room, and at the same 1 kitchen; on the left side of this house is 1 large parlour, along with 1 pantry. On the second floor 1 beautiful antechamber, and to both sides 1 beautiful parlour along with the chamber, in the middle but 1 large room, as well as 2 other rooms, of which the windows overlook the courtyard. There is also, in addition to the courtyard and garden, a large massive back building wherein are the stables downstairs, and rooms upstairs, as well as at this house 1 garden lying on the Weser of 2 acres, and with precious fruit trees, as well as 2 acres of good meadows and 4 acres of farmland. Anyone who wants to buy this house with the listed accessories will report to Mrs. Commercien-Räthin, between now and upcoming Easter, at the local office of Fürstenberg, and request further details from her.”
Pump House
If history had taken a different turn, Frederick the Great could possibly have operated the water fountain with a large Bessler wheel in his castle park in Sanssouci. Potsdam Castle was inaugurated in 1747. A windmill was to first pump water from the nearby river into a higher reservoir, from which a large fountain could then have been fed evenly. However, due to the insufficient wind conditions on the lower bank of the Havel River, the project failed. Bessler's invention would have been perfect for this, because he himself had repeatedly shown the conveying of water publicly with an Archimedes screw driven by his wheel. It took another hundred years for this task to be completed by a steam engine. But then this also had approx. 80 hp and blew the fountain about 40 meters high.
Immediately after his assumption of office, the Prussian King Frederick William IV (predecessor of William I) commissioned the master builder Persius to erect a visually acceptable building for the accommodation of the steam engine and the pump that it drove. From 1841 to 1843, the building to be seen above was built in the appearance of a mosque, complete with a minaret.
The building stands in 14471 Potsdam, Breite Straße 28, and is now a museum. The boiler is no longer in operation, but the steam engine is, at times, driven by an electric motor and can still be admired by visitors in this way. At the bottom of the picture you can see the Havel.
From this location, the river water was pumped over a distance of 2 km to the Sanssouci castle park. The fountain height of 40 metres required a high pressure, which was quite a challenge for the engineers and the pipe material that were available at the time. However, this challenge was gladly accepted, because in this phase of the industrial revolution there was a fierce competition between Germany and England, to see who was more advanced and could accomplish the greater technical performance. Only from this point of view is it understandable why the water was sprayed to such a height. For visitors to the castle park, this was rather stressful. On windy days, the spray was distributed over a large area.
