by Birgitta Lemmel In 1865, soon after production at his very first company – outside Stockholm – had got started, Alfred Nobel left Sweden for Hamburg with the aim of creating a company for the production of blasting oil (the brand name for ) in Europe. He had been encouraged to set up business in…

Paul François Barbe became Alfred Nobel’s French partner for many years. As early as 1868, Nobel went into partnership with Barbe for the exploitation of dynamite in France. In 1870, under Barbe’s forceful management, the manufacture of dynamite began in Paulille near the Spanish border, an isolated spot chosen for security reasons. Barbe’s skill in…

Kieselguhr, a diatomaceous earth (diatomite) is a form of silica composed of the siliceous shells of unicellular aquatic plants of microscopic size. Kieselguhr is heat resistant and has been used as an insulator, as a component in toothpaste and as an abrasive in metal polishes. In the chemical industry, it is also used as a…

Production of Dynamite at Krümmel Year Metric Tons 1867 11 1868 78 1869 185 1870 424 1871 785 1872 1,350 1873 2,050 1874 3,150

The manager’s house in 1880. Alfred Nobel also stayed here during his visits. View of the Nobel site and the river Elbe around 1880. The Nobel site around 1905. Entrance to the factory around 1908. The manager’s house is seen to the right. Loading of powder at Krümmel in 1915.