After the spinning privilege in Saxony was lifted for the Bernhard company in Harthau, many new spinning mills based on the English model emerged along the strong rivers of the Erzgebirge, marking a new industrial era in Saxony. Around the same time, entrepreneurs Gottlob Friedrich Thomas (a student of Evan Evans) and Friedrich Gottlob Bonitz founded the first spinning mill in Lengenfeld. By 1810, this mill operated with 2,550 spindles and became one of the first in the Vogtland region. Spinning continued until the industry’s first major crisis in 1842.
In 1847, businessman Gottlob Richard Müller purchased the mill and converted it into a chemical bleaching plant. Ernst Gottlob Wentzel joined as a partner a year later. In 1855, a fire destroyed the mill, but it was quickly rebuilt with additional wings, increasing production capacity. The facility also featured a private park connected to a nearby pond.
By 1859, Wentzel became sole owner and renamed the business “Chem. Bleiche und Appretur-Anstalt v. Ernst Wentzel Lengenfeld.” In 1883 and again in 1895, new buildings were added, including a curtain weaving department. In 1936, the company introduced oxygen bleaching, one of the first in central Germany, using a new NC3 cooling system.
During World War II, production shifted to military fabrics. After the war, the company struggled under new economic policies. By the early 1950s, the last Wentzel family member left, and the plant was nationalized. It became part of state-owned enterprises, including ‘VEB Falgard Falkenstein’ and later ‘VEB Plauener Gardine.’ Until 1990, it was part of Europe’s largest curtain manufacturer.
After the closure of Plauener Gardine, the Lengenfeld site was abandoned due to a lack of vision and political will, and the historic factory fell into decay.
