In 1860, the Wackernheim council decided to purchase a local bleaching plant. In 1862, the required property of approx. 3800 m² was purchased from a total of ten different owners.
Lawn bleaching was a process in which white linen, such as sheets or tablecloths, was freed from the grey haze. The washed linen or hemp textiles were spread out on the grass and repeatedly moistened. The interaction of sunlight, water and oxygen from the grasses caused a chemical reaction that produced small amounts of the bleaching agent hydrogen peroxide.
It was not until 1871 that the bleaching house was built at the west end of the site. The remaining field bricks were used to enlarge and repair the leaking water tanks on the bleach.
After progress had made the costly lawn bleaching superfluous, fish farming was carried out on the site for decades. In 2017, the municipality began the renaturation of the area.
A contemporary witness recalled: "In our childhood days, we were regularly sent there with the "Kannche", a four-wheeled cart, with bedding and whites and a watering can. We spread out the laundry and watered it with the well water. When the stuff was dry, it was turned over and sprinkled again. This happened several times and in between we played around the big well coffin until the setting sun reminded us to go home with the laundry. (Otto Herrmann 1921-2012)
