Bagger 1473
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| Bagger 1473 | |
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| General information | |
| Status | Abandoned |
| Location | Schipkau, Germany |
| Coordinates | 51°32′06.9″N 13°56′59.0″E / 51.535250°N 13.949722°E |
| Completed | 1965 |
| Closed | 2002 |
| Owner | LMBV |
| Height | 50 m |
| Dimensions | |
| Weight | 3850 t |
Bagger 1473 is a bucket-wheel excavator left abandoned in a field in the municipality of Schipkau in Germany.[1]
Misidentification
When Bagger 1473 became popular in the urban exploration community, the link was quickly made to Bagger 258 because of markings found on the information plate.[2] There was also a Bagger 258 at work at the Tagebau Garzweiler mine, about 650 km from Bagger 1473's location.
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Operational life
In its operational life the excavator was used in the Tagebau Meuro mine from 1965 to 2002.
Relocation
In 2003, the municipalities Senftenberg, Großräschen, and Schipkau decided on a joint action to preserve the opencast mining behemoth. Over the course of nearly three weeks, from 29 August to 15 September, Bagger 1473 was moved approximately 8.5 kilometres (5.3 mi) through the Meuro mine to a new location near the EuroSpeedway Lausitz, where it was to serve as a monument to the lignite mining formerly conducted in the area. The route crossed industrial roads and rails owned by the LMBV, but public traffic was not affected.[3]
Scrapping proposal
In January 2019 it was announced[4] that the bucket-wheel excavator was to be scrapped. This decision of the municipalities was mainly due to further dilapidation and vandalism. Only parts of the excavator, such as the wheel, were to be preserved.
The municipalities declared that saving the steel giant was financially impossible and that damage due to vandalism and theft was so extensive that the structure was no longer safe for people to climb onto it.
The Brandenburg Landesamt für Denkmalpflege (State Office for the Preservation of Monuments) and the state archeological museum learned of the planned detonation in the press and issued a statement that the eligibility of the excavator for protection as a historical structure had been acknowledged since 2002/2003. At that time, it was simply assumed that it was unnecessary to formally place it on the list of such structures. The fact that the structure was identified as historically significant was considered sufficient to declare it as protected. The Landesamt quickly made it official in February, due to the threat of destruction.
That did not mean, however, that the excavator had definitely been rescued. While constructive discussions about its future with the owning communities are possible, it was unclear how the structure can be preserved for the years to come and who will pay for it.[5]
References
- ^ "Bergbauwahrzeichen soll erhalten bleiben". Lausitzer Rundschau (in German). 16 December 2002.
- ^ "Bagger 258: The "Blue Wonder"". Atlas Obscura. 16 May 2016.
- ^ "LMBV-Schaufelradbagger auf letzter Fahrt" [Final journey for LMBV bucket-wheel excavator] (in German). Lausitzer und Mitteldeutsche Bergbau-Verwaltungsgesellschaft (LMBV). 28 August 2003.
- ^ "Letzte Reise für das „Blaue Wunder" vom Lausitzring". Lausitzer Rundschau (in German). 11 January 2019.
- ^ "Hörlitzer Schaufelradbagger ist jetzt ein Denkmal". Lausitzer Woche (in German). 28 February 2019.
See also
External links
- Tagebau Meuro at ostkohle.de
- "Tagebau Meuro: 1958–1999" (in German)