In 1914, the government decided to build a state-owned gunpowder factory in this district. The trial operation began on May 12, 1915. After the Treaty of Versailles in June 1918, the entire factory, which was not even fully completed, had to be liquidated. The facilities were given to other countries, but the buildings remained. After the factory was taken over by the Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management, it became the property of the Reichsbahn (Reich Railway). The factory was converted into a railway factory.

Subsequently, the central school for railway training also moved to the former fireworks laboratory in the mid-1920s. The entire complex of the former fireworks laboratory has largely been preserved and is a national monument, but it still looks very desolate.