Industrie- und Filmmuseum Wolfen - Museum

The film factory owes its location to the clean air in the then small town of Wolfen. AGFA, founded in the 19th century, was unable to produce sensitive film materials in Berlin because of the air pollution caused by steam locomotives. Thus, from 1909 onwards, an industrial site emerged that caused a worldwide sensation with inventions such as color films for cinema and cameras, chemical dyes and synthetic textiles. However, the production secrets for the color films were disclosed by the American occupying forces in 1945. Printed, they could now be used worldwide. Some complete production lines for the manufacture of the color film were dismantled for reparation reasons and taken to the then Soviet Ukraine. Nevertheless, the plant remained the largest European and second-largest producer of raw film in the world until the 1950s. The Agfa brand name continued to be used by both the East and West German legal successors for some time through an agreement. In 1964, the decision was made in Wolfen to change the trademark to ORWO (Original Wolfen), and the trademark rights to Agfa were sold to the West German company in Leverkusen.