Riedhof mine
| Riedhof mine | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| General information about the mine | |||
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| Mining technology | Longwall mining | ||
| Funding / total | 31 095 t of brown coal | ||
| Information about the mining company | |||
| Operating company | Eisenbergwerk Gonzen AG. on behalf of Gebr. Sulzer AG | ||
| Employees | 260-300 | ||
| Start of operation | 1786, 1917, 1942 | ||
| End of operation | 1814, 1921, 1947 | ||
| Successor use | Visitor mine | ||
| Funded raw materials | |||
| Degradation of | Lignite / marl | ||
| Brown coal | |||
| Mightiness | 25 cm | ||
| overall length | 7 km | ||
| Degradation of | marl | ||
| Geographical location | |||
| Coordinates | 678 882 / 237866 | ||
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| Location | Aeugstertal | ||
| local community | Aeugst am Albis | ||
| Canton | Canton Zurich | ||
| Country | Switzerland | ||
The mine Riedhof is a former lignite - and marl - mine in the hamlet Aeugstertal in the town of Aeugst am Albis in the canton of Zurich in Switzerland . The tunnel system of the coal deposit discovered in 1786 was expanded to a tunnel length of 7 km during World War II . Riedhof and the somewhat larger Käpfnach mine are the only two coal deposits in the canton of Zurich that have ever achieved economic importance.
location
The mine is located in the Reppisch Valley , between the Sihl Valley and the Reuss Valley . The former tunnel entrances were at the “Ried” farmstead in the hamlet of Aeugstertal at the foot of the Gottert hill range (Gotthard).
geology
The Swiss plateau between the rising Alps in the south and the Jura in the north was filled with the sediments of the Upper Freshwater Molasse. Most of Zurich's molasses is a slightly deformed, mostly horizontal plateau molasse. A slight bulge ( anticline ) extends in a west-south-west-east-north-east direction from Kappel am Albis over the Au peninsula to Männedorf . The coal deposit of the Riedhof lies on the north leg of this anticline, which is why the layers in the tunnels in the Riedhof descend to the north at around 4% (1.8 degrees).
The Riedhof coal seam was created in the upper freshwater molasse in 16 million years with an area of several square kilometers. It stretches from the Reppischtal to the Sihltal near Adliswil , stratigraphically 350 meters above that of Käpfnach and is therefore somewhat younger, but similarly developed.
The seam reached an average thickness of 25 cm.
Mining history
Discovery and first mining period from 1786 to 1814
In 1786 the farmer Felix Schneebeli discovered a coal seam while mining road gravel from the flank of the Gottert . The coal commission of the canton of Zurich expropriated Schneebeli and mined the coal itself between 1787 and 1814. The first tunnel built in 1787 towards Gottert followed the seam in a straight line about 200 meters into the mountain. In 1794 a second tunnel was driven in parallel. Cross cuts to the first tunnel improved air circulation ( ventilation ). During the first mining period, around 1000 tons of coal were mined in the approximately 500 meter tunnel, mainly for the brickworks in Kappel am Albis. The transport took place with donkeys.
Second dismantling period from 1917 to 1921 (First World War)
Driven by the coal demand from industry and the lack of availability of imported coal, the coal deposits in Riedhof became interesting again. 16 people with President Heinrich Spinner from Aeugstertal founded the Aeugst coal mining company. Despite the negative report due to the poor thickness and quality of Albert Heim's coal deposits , mining began. The lack of yield led to several changes of mining concessionaires. During this period a tunnel track with circular circulation, a track width of 60 cm and a length of 750 m was built. The second mining period resulted in 1218 tons of coal. For the first time, trucks were used for transport.
Third dismantling period from 1942 to 1947 (World War II)
The Mining Bureau of the Federal War, Industry and Labor Office began prospecting in Swiss coal regions in 1938. The Riedhof mine was assessed positively in 1941. The Sulzer Brothers Ltd. and Georg Fischer Ltd. were commissioned as licensees. Experienced miners from the Gonzen iron mine near Sargans took over the management and training of the local workers. In the winter of 1941/1942 the tunnels could already be reopened. The Richt and Gottert tunnels were expanded to main tunnels with double-lane tracks that could be driven by an 8-ton diesel locomotive. Large caverns were blasted into both tunnels for two train stations, with which the tracks of the side tunnels were also connected. In 1943 internees from eastern states with mining knowledge were used for the workers drafted into active service . At peak times, between 260 and 300 people worked in the mine. From 1942 to 1947, 31,400 tons of coal were mined.
Today's visitor mine
The mine was forgotten after 1947 until it was made the subject of a special exhibition in the new local museum in Zwillikon in 1999 . A number of tunnel inspections were carried out between 2000 and 2002. However, large parts of the mine were no longer accessible. On May 15, 2002, the “Verein Bergwerk Riedhof” was founded in Aeugst am Albis in order to preserve the memory of a regionally important industrial monument. The association has set up a museum in a civil defense cellar at Götschihof.
Literature and film
- Emil Letsch: The Swiss Molasse Coal east of the Reuss , Bern 1899
- H. Fehlmann: Swiss mining during the world war . Publishing house Kümmerly & Frey, Bern 1919.
- Emil Letsch and Ernst Ritter: Die Schweizerische Molassekohle III , Schweizerische Naturforschende Gesellschaft (Eds.), Kümmerly & Frey, Bern 1925
- H. Fehlmann: Swiss mining during the 2nd world war . Bern 1947
- Swiss Geotechnical Commission (Ed.): The mineral raw materials of Switzerland. Zurich 1997.
- T. Gubler: On the geology of the Upper Freshwater Molasse between Zurich and Zug , unpublished diploma thesis ETH, Zurich 1987.
- Ueli Wenger, Rainer Kündig, Rainer Vogt: Coal mining in the Riedhof mine near Aeugst am Albis . In: Minaria Helvetica 2002, No. 22a, pp. 5-52.
- Andrina Schneller: «Underground» - a documentary about the Riedhof mine .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ 92_2.pdf. In: ngzh.ch. Retrieved April 9, 2014 .
- ↑ T. Gubler: On the geology of the Upper Freshwater Molasse between Zurich and Zug, unpublished diploma thesis ETH Zurich 1987
- ↑ a b c d http://www.bergwerk-riedhof.ch/Downloads/Kohlenbergwerk_Riedhof_Broschuere.pdf
- ↑ http://www.bergwerk-riedhof.ch/museum.html
- ↑ http://www.bergwerk-riedhof.ch/kiosk.html