A new seed
. is one of the witnesses of a rural past in Duisburg's urbanized north. The farm was first mentioned in a deed that dates back to 1603.
Since the first blast furnace blow-in in 1903, the farm has been associated closely with Thyssen. It supplied for example food to the mill-owned shops and was for many years Thyssen's wagoner.
1993 saw the transformation of the Ingenhammshof into a farm for teaching and study. Consumption and production are equally balanced here: crop cultivation and stock-breeding are based on the principles of ecological agriculture.
As a centre for environmental design, and thanks to the commitment of the director and the numerous teaching staff, the farm is practically booked up. Under the motto "A year at the Ingenhammshof", school pupils trade in their pencils for pitchforks and find out all about the various aspects of farm life.
They learn when and how to sow, how hay is made and how to harvest. They become aware that they are responsible for the care of the animals they raise, while knowing at the same time that they will be slaughtered or sold.
