Miners' Path
A miner's path (also: Bergmannsweg, Grubenpfad, Grubenweg, Häuersteig, Schwarzer Weg ) is a path that miners used to get to their driveway .
This route usually led from the place of residence to the pit , but often also from the place of residence to the next train station or it connected pits with one another. The paths were either trampled themselves or laid out by the mine administration. Since the miners wanted to spend as little time as possible on their way to work, the miner's paths often lead straight through the landscape , regardless of the contour lines . One goal of the road construction was that the miners should save energy and time and maintain their health better, as they often spent several hours on the trails in all weathers. Miners' trails can therefore be seen as a social service of the mining treasury.
Their great importance over the decades can also be seen in the fact that they were blocked during strikes to prevent those willing to work from entering.
With the connection of more and more places to the railroad, the widespread use of bicycles from 1900, the creation of a (works) bus network from the 1920s and mass motorization from the 1950s, fewer and fewer routes were covered on foot and less use was made the miner's path steadily decreased. Today the miners' trails are often included in tourist hiking trail concepts.
literature
- Horst Steffens: Authority and revolt - everyday life and strike behavior of miners on the Saar in the 19th century , Weingarten 1987
- Thomas Fläschner: Hartfüßer and satchel men on black paths - layout, use and importance of the miners' paths in the Saar area In: Eckstein 12/2008, pp. 36–52
- Horst Wilhelm: Von Hartfießern, Satchel men and Quartiermännern In: Bergbau in Schiffweiler Guido Jung ( collaborator ) Schiffweiler 2003, pp. 50–53