3. Station: Westfassade / Glocke

The bell that once stood near the gatehouse at the main entrance to the Sayner Hütte, used to announce the start and end of working hours. All the workers had to reach their workplace before it stopped ringing. The workforce came on foot from Sayn and the surrounding villages. Working hours were generally 11 hours a day, 6 days a week. Only at the blast furnace, which operated day and night, were the workers on call in two 12-hour shifts. They also had to work every other Sunday and on the major church holidays. During their one-hour lunch break, the workers either went home for lunch or had it brought over by family members in a warm pot with a handle, known as a "Henkelmännchen". Alcohol was strictly forbidden on the smelting site. That said, excavations have unearthed vast quantities of small clay schnapps bottles that were buried in the ground by the workers.In 1851 the village of Sayn contained 1,406 inhabitants. 551 people worked in the iron industry, 468 of them at the Sayner ironworks. Earnings at the ironworks were so low that most of the children also worked there instead of going to school. The womenfolk were responsible for the household. Most of them kept an allotment to provide additional food for the family, as well as helping with the laundry in other households in return for payment.