Mining in Siegerland
The mining industry in the winner country has a 2,500 year history. For a long time, the region was characterized by iron ore mining and its processing. Active mining came to an end in 1965. The metal processing industry is still one of the strongest in Siegerland today .
history
Beginnings in the La Tène period and development
The first traces of iron smelting date back to the early Iron Age around the year 600 BC. BC back. From 500 BC Celts coming from the south mined the ore veins lying on the surface in so-called " Mollkauten " (digs directly on the surface) and later pinging . The Celts had an extensive knowledge of mining . They set up small ovens ( wind or racing ovens ) nearby for smelting. Evidence of this is provided by the early La Tène period around 500 BC. Built furnace in Wilnsdorf - Obersdorf . In the 1940s and 50s, the prehistorian Otto Krasa found over 140 smelting sites , especially in the southern and southwestern Siegerland.
From 100 BC Mining declined due to the high consumption of charcoal and the subsequent shortage, as no technology was yet known for reforesting the cleared forests. The first tunnels were built in the 7th century , as the near-surface deposits were exhausted and the tunnel construction was more effective. These were increasingly created from 900 AD and almost completely replaced superficial mining in the 10th century. They were located above the groundwater level , because there were also deposits there and it was not yet possible to raise water from greater depths.
Middle Ages to the 18th century
The oldest modern mine was the Stahlberg mine in Müsen ( Hilchenbach ) from 1079 AD, which was not mentioned in a document until May 4, 1313. The Ratzenscheid mine between Wilnsdorf and Wilden is documented as the oldest mine in Siegerland, dating back to 1298 . As early as 1170 there was a mint in Siegen, halflings with the inscription "Siegensensis Civ" indicate silver finds in the region. Early evidence from excavations indicates a mining settlement with shaft construction (up to 20 m) in the 13th century on Altenberg near Müsen, where one of the centers of mining later came into being.
With the invention of gunpowder as an explosive device, simple manholes were built in the 15th century , as these were easier to build with the use of powder. From now on, the ore was extracted with reels and horse pegs, and the groundwater was brought from greater depths using "water wheels" and other lifting techniques such as buckets. In the beginning, dies were mainly used to convey non-ferrous metals such as copper, lead and zinc; they were usually placed blindly between two soles or in a tunnel and were equipped with little or no technology, as they usually ran at an angle. A Hauberg was mentioned for the first time in 1417 ; this was used to make charcoal.
In the 16th century the development of mining deteriorated. This was due to the " real division " common in Siegerland , the division of the land among all descendants. The mines could not work economically like this. In addition, there was the sometimes confused case law of the governments. The chaotic situation changed from 1559, when Wilhelm the Rich put the "Nassau-Katzenellenbogische Bergordnung" into force on September 1st of that year, by which the Siegerland mining was regulated from now on. This led to enormous growth in the regional coal and steel industry . For example, an order from Duke Wilhelm of Saxony is recorded for October 4, 1563, when he ordered four iron furnaces for Eisenach in Siegen. On April 19, 1575 it was reported that all miners in the "Siegener Land" belonged to the mining guild as paying members.
The work in mining became more popular, the order said among other things: "Those who desire to live among us for the sake of the mine, all service, happiness and appreciation, as long as the mine lasts, should be completely free" . In 1489 there was the first Count's Mountain Regulations, in 1664 the Electorate of Trier, 1830 the “Hütten- und Hammerordnung for the State of Siegen” and in 1865 the “General Prussian Mining Act”. Related news from the mining industry before the 19th century is completely absent; this changed when Prussia occupied the territory. Now a regulated process has been brought into the companies in the Siegerland ore district.
Between 1760 and 1850 cobalt mining flourished on both sides of the Sieg. The focus was for example Siegen, Eiserfeld, Niederschelden or churches. Well-known mines such as Bunte Kuh and Junkernburg in Niederschelden, Fortuna in Dreisbach, Grüner Löwe in Gosenbach or Alexander in Kirchen mainly mined cobalt ores during this time.
Industrialization and heyday
In the 19th century more and more ore was used in the course of industrialization . The Siegerland developed into one of the most important centers of iron ore mining and its processing in Europe. In 1853, 660 mines were active. From the 1850s steam engines were used for the rapidly increasing number and the ever deeper shafts . The machines made it possible to mine ore at greater depths. Modern shafts with steam engines and conveyor baskets increasingly replaced tunnel construction and the creation of dies . From now on, tunnels were usually created for two reasons: Either to discharge the pit water (in an hereditary tunnel ), or if the construction of the shaft was not worthwhile because the deposits were relatively close to the surface or were not available in sufficient quantities. In 1884 it was reported that in the past quarter of a century ore mining had increased sevenfold, also thanks to the railway. At that time, 80% of the iron ore extracted in the Siegerland came from civil engineering companies. The following table shows a selection of companies and their conversion to civil engineering:
| year | pit | District | Shaft depth |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1852 | National crown | Oberwilden | 94 m |
| 1852 | Viktorsfeld | Burbach | 95 m |
| 1855 | Rattling hope | Wins | 106 m |
| 1855 | Puetzhorn | Wins | 107 m |
| 1855 | Stahlberg | Have to | 312 m |
| 1856 | New Haardt | Weidenau | 352 m |
| 1859 | Storch & Schöneberg | Gosenbach | 585 m |
| 1864 | Eisernhardt civil engineering | Iron | 790 m |
| 1866 | Bollnbach | Herdorf | 477 m |
| 1867 | George | Willroth | 968 m |
| 1870 | Pfannenberger unity | Salchendorf | 450 m |
| 1871 | Bautenberg | Savages | 403 m |
| 1879 | Heinrichsglück | Salchendorf | 272 m |
| 1881 | Eisenzecher train | Eiserfeld | 790 m |
| 1881 | San Fernando | Herdorf | 675 m |
| 1890 | wolf | Herdorf | 711 m |
| 1893 | Hollert train | Herdorf | 240 m |
| 1899 | Fussberg | Daaden - Biersdorf | 1046 m |
| 1912 | Marie | Wilnsdorf | 130 m |
| 1916 | Silberwiese | Oberlahr | 520 m |
Industrialization also had other advantages: from the 1930s, water was used to reduce dust in drilling. Numerous machines, water retention systems and drives as well as later electric or gasoline motors were invented or could be used better. Compressed air drills were used from 1900. The miners' equipment has also been improved. The flickering oil lamps were replaced by carbide lamps in the 20th century . Leather helmets were still worn in the 1920s . In the 1950s they were replaced by plastic helmets .
From the 1860s horse transports were replaced by railways , from 1879 cable cars were built and from 1903 petrol locomotives were used. Numerous branch lines and small railways connected the pits with train stations in the area. In addition, there was the rail link to the Ruhr area built in 1861 , without which mining in Siegerland would have ended around 100 years earlier. The Siegerland mining industry had its heyday around 1900.
In 1816 the Siegen Mining Authority was founded in the Lower Castle in Siegen. There were six mountain areas below him . The mining office was dissolved in 1861. From 1818 to 1967 there was a mountain school in Siegen . The Schleifmühlchen mine in Siegen was used as a "training pit" after its actual closure.
By 1900 over 15,000 miners were working in the region.
| 1900 | 15,000 | |||
| 1913 | 13,000 | |||
| 1932 | 3,250 | |||
| 1949 | 4,350 | |||
| 1953 | 5,457 | |||
During the First World War , the production volumes were increased, with the global economic crisis production sank again. This meant the end of many pits, with other pits the dewatering could still be maintained. The annual subsidies were as follows:
| 1836 | 0.06 million t | |||
| 1853 | 0.21 million t | |||
| 1900 | 1.80 million t | |||
| 1913 | 2.62 million t | |||
| 1926 | 1.70 million t | |||
| 1932 | 0.50 million t | |||
| 1949 | 1.10 million t | |||
| 1953 | 1.40 million t | |||
Decline and end of mining in 1965
In 1880 around 35% of the ores mined in the German Reich were from mines in the Siegerland. The manganese-rich and high-quality iron ores were in demand. By 1909, however, this number had dropped to just under 10%. New smelting processes made the low-phosphorus and high-manganese ores from Siegerland useless for smelters further afield, and territorial gains made it possible to extract large quantities of Lorraine Minette ores , the demand for which was growing steadily. The high transport costs due to the poor location in Siegerland created additional difficulties for the mining industry. However, the local smelters continued to be good buyers of the domestic ores.
Over time, especially after World War II , when there was a lot of overexploitation , the mines became increasingly unprofitable. In March 1953 " Erzbergbau Siegerland AG " was founded in Betzdorf. With eleven compound systems, it contained the last large pits in the Siegerland as well as a number of pits kept in reserve or closed. However, this community was unable to prevent the mines from closing. The first of them closed in 1955. From 1959 onwards, extensive mechanization and rationalization measures took place, which were intended to lower the ore price. But the ore-consuming Ruhr smelters reduced the smelting of Siegerland ores bit by bit, as foreign ores were cheaper and new technologies meant that the high manganese content of Siegerland ores, which was previously so popular, was no longer in demand. With the closure of the Georg pits in Willroth and Füssenberg in Biersdorf near Daaden on March 31, 1965, over 2,500 years of ore mining in the Siegerland ore district ended .
Present: remains and day breaks
Today the miner's profession has died out in the Siegerland. In 1962, with the Pfannenberg and in 1965 with the Füssenberg, the last mines were closed, as extraction in the Siegerland was no longer worthwhile.
Today the position of most of the pits can only be found with the help of old maps or those familiar with the individual areas. The buildings were demolished, the shafts backfilled or at least closed, and most of the entrances to old tunnels were locked or backfilled. Many slag and spoil heaps as well as many pings and depressions from the time before the tunnel was built are still visible . Remnants of buildings and old entrances can be seen here and there. Large ruins are rare, such as B. the remains of the Peterszeche in Buchhellertal between Burbach and Lippe , which was closed in 1907, but whose remains are still visible next to a large dump. Some of the old tunnel entrances are still visible in the woods today, and many of them are now being restored as memorials, such as that of the Marie mine .
In 1986 the mining museum of the Altenkirchen district was opened in the Herdorf district of Sassenroth . A 15 m high winding tower is a reminder of the mining era and the 2500 year old mining history of the Siegerland. A show mine has been set up underground. Many other tunnels and mines, such as B. the Reinhold Forster-Erbstollen or the Bindweide mine were set up as show mines especially in the late 1980s and in the 90s .
Day breaks
Many mountains in the Siegerland are “riddled with holes like Swiss cheese”, thousands of tunnels and tunnels stretch more or less deep underground, partly through solid rock , partly through loose rock . Depending on the age of the tunnels , they can collapse due to the loss of supporting material (e.g. rotten wooden supporting beams) and the strength of the rock. When this happens near the surface, so-called day breaks occur . An example of this mountain damage is the daybreak in July 2003 on the Steimel in Neunkirchen . While these fractures mainly originated and continue to develop in uninhabited areas, the fractures on the Rosterberg in Siegen in February 2004 were in a residential area. There tunnels and passages of the Hohe Grethe mine collapsed ; houses threatened to sag and collapse. The break in daylight on the Rosterberg became widely known as the “ Siegener Loch ”.
Backfilling usually takes a long time because the extent of the tunnel network below is not fully or well known. Tunnel maps were only created from around 1800, and there are also many older and black tunnels that are not shown on any map. Furthermore, digging was not always done to a sufficient depth, not all tunnels were well documented, and many clues on the old maps have long since disappeared above ground or can only be guessed at.
Day breaks have only been reported since the mid-1960s; in NRW there have been around 1050 since then, 100 of them in the Siegen-Wittgenstein district alone . A lot of sagging happened in forest areas that are seldom mentioned in public.
Here is a selection of the day breaks in Siegerland:
| date | place | pit |
|---|---|---|
| 1936 | Herdorf | Random luck |
| April 1965 | Siegen , Rosterberg | High Grethe |
| July 1968 | Siegen- Weidenau | New Haardt |
| March 1970 | Siegen-Weidenau | New Haardt |
| January 1971 | Siegen, Numbach | ? |
| 1979 | Neunkirchen | Steimel |
| December 1981 | Siegen, Siegerlandhalle | Rattling hope? |
| February 1987 | Wilnsdorf - Anzhausen | United Concordia |
| February 2000 | Wilnsdorf- Rödgen | Brotherhood? |
| November 2000 | Siegen- Eiserfeld | Dawn |
| February 2001 | Siegen- Trupbach | United Georgin? |
| July 28, 2003 | Neunkirchen | Steimel |
| from February 12, 2004 | Siegen, Rosterberg (" Siegener Loch ") | High Grethe |
| April 2004 | Siegen-Eiserfeld | ? |
| June 2004 | Siegen-Eiserfeld | Victoria |
| July 2004 | Siegen-Eiserfeld | Gilberg |
| August 2004 | Kirchhundem - Silberg | Glanzenberg |
| December 2004 | Wilnsdorf- Wilgersdorf | New Hope |
| February 2005 | Siegen- Gosenbach | chamber |
| March 25, 2005 | Siegen- Eisern | Old birch? |
| October 2006 | Wilnsdorf- Obersdorf | ? |
| September 2007 | Wilnsdorf-Obersdorf | Prince Friedrich |
| January 2008 | Siegen-Eisern | resurrection |
| October 2008 | Siegen, Rosterberg | Philip's hope |
| November 11, 2008 | Siegen, Rosterberg | Feldberger Erbstollen |
| July 24, 2009 | Wenden - Hünsborn (A 45) | Huneborn |
| September 2010 | Neunkirchen- Struthütten | cosmos |
| June 2011 | Siegen, Rosterberg | ? |
Pit life
Pit foundation
If an entrepreneur wanted to build a mine, he had to have mining rights . If he received this from the mining authority , he had the right to prospect and dig for certain ores in a certain area. A workforce consisting of various professions was put together to found the pit, miners underground for mining and above ground for separating and processing the ore. After the founding, tunnels or, at an advanced age, shafts were created. Correspondingly, more technology was required for the shaft construction. Machine rooms, boiler houses, winding towers, workshops (locksmiths or blacksmiths) and lounges had to be built. Often new pits started small, only with a few men who, on the run of luck, dug in various places and looked for ore.
Pit names
The pits were very often named after names , known persons , the places (e.g. the mountain or the village ) of these pits or animals . Prefixes such as "old" / "old" or "young" / "young" were more common. Often the names could also be very creative, downright “crazy”. Here are some examples:
- Flower garden ( Niederfischbach )
- Iron ( Siegen )
- Lazy dog ( knowledge )
- Fire and Flame ( Eiserfeld )
- Hinterstes Hühnchen ( Niederschelderhütte )
- Georg & Sonne (Volperhausen / Morsbach )
- Air pit ( Müsen )
- Northern Breimehl ( Brachbach )
- United Pützhorn (Siegen)
Mining associations
It often happened that, especially small, financially weak mines were sold. Usually the larger pits in the vicinity bought up these or individual shafts. One example of this is the Steimel mine in Neunkirchen . Founded in 1812, 1,814 were Supreme Specht and Rother Adler newly drilled . The Krebs mine were connected in 1866, the Ende and Frauenberger Einigkeit mines in 1895 and Harteborn in 1903 . From 1895 the merger was called Freier Grunder Bergwerksverein . The smaller shafts or tunnels were usually sold again or closed after a short time because there were not enough natural resources.
Another form of pit associations is the merging of individual pits. Often pits located nearby or directly next to each other joined together. An example of this is the Pfannenberger Einigkeit mine , which was created in 1810 when a total of eight pits or tunnels were merged on the Pfannenberg .
Mine accidents
Even today, mine accidents happen from time to time. The Siegerland was not spared either. Today, however, it affects more third world countries and emerging countries whose safety standards are very low. There are different types of accidents:
- Manhole break / tunnel break : A manhole collapses, the ascent and descent are blocked. A manhole break occurred twice in the Bautenberg mine : October 1941 and March 1942 after the repair. Also tunnels can collapse. One result of this are day breaks .
- Water ingress : Through a gap or by hitting a water vein, water penetrates into the corridors and floods everything. 1872 z. B. 14 miners drowned in the Bindweide mine in Steinebach.
- Pit fires , for example triggered by lights ( pit lamps ). A pit fire is often difficult to extinguish, as smoke and heat spread in the tunnels and shafts and can easily be fanned by existing natural drafts . It often takes days for the fire to go out.
- Firedamp explosions occur when firedamp is ignited by sparks (e.g. electrical systems), overheated machine parts or similar.
Transport & further processing
The further transport of the mined ores was sometimes a big problem, as many roads were steep or narrow. Except for ox carts or horse-drawn carts , there were still no solutions. That changed in the 1870s when the first railways were built. Railways and mine cars with locomotives gradually replaced the wagons. Transport became cheaper and faster, and far more ore could be removed. Most of them were narrow-gauge railways that only led from the pit to the next town. Where the stone has been used for treatment or roasting and smelting in blast furnaces or iron works brought. The blacksmith was one of the most respected professions in the Siegerland. The steel production and processing was and is still an integral part of the domestic industry . Mining was the number one employer with tens of thousands of jobs.
Pit dieback
The Siegerland pits could not last long. There were four main phases / points in time for the pits to die:
- By the exhaustion of ore a mine field, many mines were unusable and cost-heavy.
- In many cases it was not worth repairing the damage due to accidents such as manhole breaks or the like.
- During the Great Depression in the 1920s, many mines closed due to a lack of sales.
- The general mine extinction started after the Second World War. The steel or the ore from other countries was cheaper than that from Siegerland, so the mines became increasingly unprofitable.
Ore district
If you only count the "larger" operations, there were just under 450 pits in the "Siegerland" area, and well over 650 in the entire " Siegerland ore district ". Most of them were in the Siegen city area, just under 150. With all of the smaller businesses, it must have been over 5000 pits in total.
The three deepest pits in the ore district were:
- Eisenzecher Zug , Eiserfeld (mining period: 1465–1960; total depth: 1343.33 m)
- Pfannenberger Einigkeit , Salchendorf (mining period: 1810–1962; total depth: 1338 m)
- Brüderbund , Eiserfeld (dismantling period: around 1400–1958; total depth: 1274.8 m)
The longest tunnel is the Reinhold Forster Erbstollen in Eiserfeld . It measures a total length (including secondary tunnels) of 7597.5 m.
Besides iron ore, other minerals were also mined. Lead , copper and zinc were part of many mines, cobalt and nickel were rarer . Silver was mined in a few mines and gold was even mined in the Philippshoffnung mine in Siegen . It is estimated that almost 175 million tons of iron ore were mined in Siegerland. It is assumed that around 40 million tons can still be found in the entire ore district. Most of the iron ore was extracted by the Storch & Schöneberg mine in Siegen- Gosenbach with 17 million tons. At the same time, the largest workforce with 2000 miners worked there.
See also
literature
- T. Hundt, G. Gerlach, F. Roth, W. Schmidt: Description of the mountain areas Siegen I, Siegen II, Burbach & Müsen; Bonn 1887
- A. Ribbentrop: Description of the mountain district Daaden-Kirchen; Bonn 1882
- G. Wolf: Description of the mountain district Hamm an der Sieg; Bonn 1885
- Adolf Hoffmann: Mining Authority District Betzdorf (= descriptions of Rhineland-Palatinate Mining Authority districts . Volume 1 ). Glückauf, Essen 1964.
- The siderite veins in the Siegerland-Wied district . In: German iron ore deposits, I. Iron ores in the basement (= Geological Yearbook, Series D ). tape 7 . Schweizerbart, Hannover, Stuttgart 1985, ISBN 978-3-510-96114-6 .
- Ute Bosbach: Searching for traces in Eisenland - On the way on ore roads and miners ' paths, amadeusmedien, November 2006. ISBN 3-9808936-8-5 .
- Horst G. Koch: Before the lights went out - The battle for ore. From miners and mines, from the splendor and misery of mining in the Siegerland , Gudrun Koch publishing house, Siegen 1987. ISBN 3-9800627-7-5 .
- Horst G. Koch: patriarchs. Miners and smelters, mines and blast furnace works in Siegerland and Westerwald. , Siegen 1982. ISBN 3-9800627-2-4 .
- Wolfgang Stössel & Lars B. Steffens: Miner's cow and raspberry spar: The Siegerland mining industry. The explanatory book , Verlag amadeusmedien, November 2004. ISBN 3-9808936-7-7 .
- Mathias Döring: Iron and silver, water and forest - pits, smelters and hammer mills in the Müsen mining area . 226 p., 300 ill. Kreuztal 1999. ISBN 3-925498-62-1 .
Individual evidence
- ^ Siegerländer Heimatkalender 1990, p. 24, 65th edition, Ed. Siegerländer Heimat- und Geschichtsverein eV, Verlag für Heimatliteratur
- ^ Siegerländer Heimatkalender 1990, p. 12, 65th edition, Ed. Siegerländer Heimat- und Geschichtsverein eV, Verlag für Heimatliteratur
- ↑ Descriptions of the mountain areas Siegen I, Siegen II, Burbach & Müsen (Bonn 1887), Daaden-Kirchen (Bonn 1882) and Hamm an der Sieg (Bonn 1885)
- ^ Siegerländer Heimatkalender 1990, p. 8, 65th edition, publisher Siegerländer Heimat- und Geschichtsverein e. V., publishing house for local literature
- ^ HD Gleichmann: Stahlberg, Hollertszug and Eisenzeche - From collieries and mines of the Siegerland , Verlag Höppner & Göttert Siegen, 1997
- ^ Kim Christian Priemel: Flick - A corporate history from the German Empire to the Federal Republic , Wallstein Verlag, Göttingen 2007; Pp. 43/44
- ↑ wdr.de: Mountain damage in Siegerland
- ↑ DerWesten: Another break in the day , accessed on July 9, 2011
- ↑ Article “The ground sagged” in the Siegener Zeitung of October 1, 2010, page 8
- ^ Siegener Zeitung: New daybreak: House is safe , accessed on July 9, 2011
Web links
- Mining in and around Müsen ( Memento from April 18, 2008 in the Internet Archive ), archive version from April 18, 2008 at archive.org
- Westphalia regional: Development of the former mining region Siegerland