Mining desert Altenberg
The mining desert Altenberg describes a submerged city and archaeological excavation site on the mountain of the same name between the Kreuztal district of Littfeld and the Hilchenbach district of Müsen in the Siegen-Wittgenstein district in North Rhine-Westphalia .
The name "Altenberg" is first mentioned in the written tradition of the Siegerland in a document dated July 12, 1290. Lead , silver and ores were extracted as early as the 12th century , and the long history did not end until 1965 when the machine shaft was backfilled.
The Bochum Mining Museum , which carried out scientific excavations together with the University of Göttingen and the Westphalian Office for the Preservation of Monuments in the second half of the 20th century, found “one of the most important medieval mining settlements in Europe, also unique because it could be proven for the first time that the Siegerland miners were able to drive shafts for mining silver ore into the mountain as early as the 13th century without the technical means of modern times ”.
Research on the age of mining and the settlement on the Altenberg could document the first beginnings as early as 1209.
The tunnels with the light and air holes coming from the south are younger systems. The oldest tunnel coming from Müsen was first mentioned in 1571.
Today's ground monument "Altenberg" consists of remains of medieval and early modern mining that can still be seen in the area. Can be seen u. a. Excavated and not excavated basement floor plans, the floor plan of a tower, several shafts, some of which were excavated, which were used for ore mining. In addition, pinge trains and mountain heaps still exist. In the southern part of the protected area there are air holes from tunnel systems running below.
Mining on the Altenberg documents an industry that is important beyond the Siegerland area and has been of great importance for human history right up to our century.
The city of Kreuztal, together with the Westphalian Office for Archeology, Office for Land Monument Preservation, Olpe branch, recognized the importance of the complex at an early stage and made an entry in the list of monuments with effect from June 1, 1989, and thus placed it under protection. In the justification for the protection it says u. a .: "The mining desert is not only important for human history, but also for the development of working and production conditions in the region" .
See also
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- Brochure "Die Bergbausiedlung Altenberg", Verein Altenberg eV, 1979
- Monument file of the city of Kreuztal
- Report "Poetry and Truth about the Altenberg", Siegener Zeitung , around the beginning of the 1970s (exact date unknown)
- Report “Taking the bite from the ravages of time on Altenberg”, Siegener Zeitung, September 28, 1991
Coordinates: 51 ° 0 '2.8 " N , 8 ° 1' 7.8" E