The origins of the plant date back to 1923, when the Richard Bauer KG canning factory was founded in Zorbau. It processed agricultural products like asparagus and cherries to supply the population. In 1957, the factory was converted into a fish processing company called Fritz Sturm KG.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 1970, the company had to relocate because Zorbau was destroyed by lignite mining. A new facility was built near M\u00fccheln\u2019s railway station to ensure efficient delivery of fish by both truck and refrigerated train wagons. This is the factory shown in the pictures below. Production began in 1971 with around 60 employees, later increasing to 100. Most workers were women, working in a two-shift system. Much of the work remained manual despite some machinery. The factory supplied fish products to several districts in the GDR, including Halle, Leipzig, and Erfurt. Products included smoked trout, sprats, carp, halibut, and pickled fish, totaling about 1,500 tons annually. In 1978, a Danish production line was introduced to produce herring in various sauces, though it required special ingredients and faced challenges due to unpopular flavors. In the late 1970s, pollock cutlets became very popular and were in high demand. In the 1980s, fried fish products like fried herring were added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After German reunification, the factory struggled. A restart attempt in 1990 as Geiseltal Fisch-Feinkost GmbH failed, and the company was liquidated in 1991. Workers protested, but unsuccessfully. On March 31, 1992, all employees were dismissed, marking the end of fish processing at the site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Today, there are plans to redevelop the 15,000-square-meter area. A proposed project includes a senior residence, apartment buildings, and single-family homes. Although as of 2026, none of these plans were carried out.<\/p>\n\n\n\nngg_shortcode_0_placeholder\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The origins of the plant date back to 1923, when the Richard Bauer KG canning factory was founded in Zorbau. It processed agricultural products like asparagus and cherries to supply the population. In 1957, the factory was converted into a fish processing company called Fritz Sturm KG. In 1970, the company had to relocate because […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":27258,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[47,13,105,95],"class_list":["post-27230","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-urbex","tag-germany","tag-industrial","tag-mucheln","tag-sachsen-anhalt"],"yoast_head":"\n