Industrial Heritage
From weaving town to velvet and plush capital on the Lower Rhine
The story of Oedt is not only the story of a medieval castle. From the 17th century onwards, a textile tradition developed here that fundamentally transformed the character of the town in the 19th and 20th centuries. The weaving craft, documented even earlier, gave rise to an industrial golden age that made Oedt famous far beyond the Lower Rhine.
The Girmes Empire
The velvet and plush factory that shaped Oedt
In 1879, Johannes Girmes founded a velvet and plush factory in Oedt that grew to become the town's largest employer. At its peak, the company employed several thousand workers and made Oedt a centre of textile production on the Lower Rhine.
The Girmes family shaped the town not only economically but also architecturally and socially. They had workers' housing estates built, endowed public institutions and constructed the imposing Villa Girmes, which today serves as the town hall of the former municipality of Oedt.
Alongside Girmes, the firm of Peter Mertes, founded in 1850 (blue-dyeing and workwear manufacturing), was also an important economic factor. Both works shaped the townscape and economic life for many decades.
Villa Girmes
The Villa Girmes on Johannes-Girmes-Straße is an architectural jewel of the Wilhelmine era. Built as the residence of the factory-owning family, it reflects the prosperity and self-image of the textile industrialists on the Lower Rhine.
After the end of textile production, the building was repurposed as the town hall of the municipality of Oedt. The basement of the villa now houses the Heimatmuseum Oedt (local heritage museum), which displays exhibits on local history as well as archaeological finds from Burg Uda.
Heimatmuseum Oedt
Hands-on history in the town hall basement
The Heimatmuseum in the basement of the former Villa Girmes displays an impressive collection on the history of Oedt and Burg Uda in a compact space. Alongside the archaeological finds from the 1959–62 excavations, there are exhibits on textile history, everyday life and the religious culture of the Lower Rhine.
Visit
Johannes-Girmes-Straße 21, 47929 Grefrath-Oedt
Every first Sunday of the month, 2–5pm (February–December)
Free admission
Collection Highlights
• Archaeological finds from Burg Uda
• Documents on textile history
• Historical photographs of Oedt
• Everyday objects from local history
• Religious art and customs
Structural Change
The decline of the textile industry from the 1970s hit Oedt hard. The Girmes works closed and the town had to reinvent itself. Today, the Villa Girmes, street names and the heritage museum are reminders of the industrial past.
From Castle to Factory
The history of Oedt connects medieval castle heritage with industrial rise and transformation. Discover all its facets.