Küttigen iron mine

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Map of the iron mine from 1795.

In the Küttigen iron mine , in the Buchwald between the villages of Küttigen , Erlinsbach and the city of Aarau, ore was mined in the forests for iron production between 1500 and 1850.

topology

The Aarau Erzberg is home to three centuries-old tunnels, some of which are hundreds of meters long. A schematic illustration of these tunnels can be found in the documents of the Rombachtäli district association, which has been conducting surveys on the history of this historic habitat since 2018, and in the Atlas of Switzerland. The mining area is also called the Hungerberg ore tunnel in the Rombach.

geology

The floor ore in the Buchwald is the third layer on the white Jura limestone.

Bohnerz, at the Erlachstollen entrance to surveys by the Rombachtäli district association.

The ore was considered one of the "most beautiful and richest in Switzerland.

biology

Countless pits from the brown ore mining are visible in the forests, they partially filled with water and are an unexplored habitat for many protected and threatened species. [Source?]

history

The floor ore may have attracted exploitation early on, so the name «Rombach» suggests that the Rombach was already known to the Romans.

In 1550 the first mining concession is mentioned. It permits the digging of iron ore in Biberstein and erecting a hammer in Erlinsbach. There were 3 mines in the Bernese era :

  • The Küttiger tunnel on the Tannenbächli behind the Buchmatt,
  • the caution tunnel at the top Rombachtäli and
  • the Erlachstollen against Obererlinsbach.

The Erlach tunnel alone delivered 40,000 buckets a year (reference year?) .

The ore was washed in troughs, taken on the Aare to Albbruck and smelted in the St. Blasischen smelting furnaces. Historical writings describe the hard work and payment of the work that was hard work underground and in washing places and thus co-founded the current prosperity of the community. In 1784 the mine was placed under the supervision of Monsieur le Capitaine, Franz Samuel Wild , to whom the Bex salt mine (Le Bévieux) was also subordinate as miner.

The Aarau major and revolutionary Daniel Pfleger owned the Rombachgut between 1782–1801. "In 1792, Bern paid the landowner of the Rombachtälihof, Major Daniel Pfleger, the round sum of 200 guilders because a mudslide from the tunnel entrance had flooded its meadows."

By 1807 the iron stone in the three tunnels was exhausted. That is why the Aarau industrialist Johann Rudolf Meyer opened a fourth mine on Hungerberg: the Meyerstollen. This was the best friend of Johann Rudolf Meyer (son) , the builder of the Meyerschen Tollen Aarau.

The Hungerberg was one of the more important exploitation areas on the edge of the Jura between Biel and Aarau. The annual ore yield could increase in good years by 1760 to 875 tons. The number of miners employed varied between 8 and 20, depending on the operation in the smelting works. At this time the daily wage of a miner was 12 to 18 good cruisers. Apparently, during the Helvetic Republic, only worked in Küttigen; From June 1st, 1800 to March 10th, 1803 a total of 1,467.7 tons (an average of 489 tons per year) with a value of 4,257 francs were mined. 30 to 40 family fathers were involved in ore mining. During the state enterprise from 1803-1820 the sale of the ores became more difficult. Ore prices fell as a result of competition from foreign iron production; the state worked with ever increasing losses, so that the mining operations had to be stopped in 1820.

A tunnel collapsed in 2014.

Research, inventory

In 2018, the Rombachtäli neighborhood association initiated the processing of the history of the historic valley, which was continued by the cantonal archeology. At the end of April 2019, important cantonal investigations lasting several months were completed. The three mine tunnel entrances of the Erlach, Caution and Meyer tunnels in Rombachtäli / am Hungerberg and the Pingenfelder in the Lindgrabe and Buechebni area were classified as A sites by cantonal archeology. They are shown accordingly on the archaeological online site map.

A cantonal map of archaeological sites serves as the basis for implementation in land use planning and is consulted as a legally valid basis in the spatial development process. In addition, it enables the municipal authorities to fulfill their reporting requirements in accordance with Section 41 of the Culture Act.

The extensive, subterranean tunnel systems of the Erlach, Caution and Meyer tunnels were classified by canton archeology as D sites. However, these are not recorded on the online site map, but are also part of the archaeological site inventory and are recorded accordingly in the database of the canton archeology. According to Section 38 of the Culture Act, archaeological remains are to be protected and preserved.

Vision map «Local recreation history trail Rombachtäli».

The district association Rombachtäli has designed a vision for the development of a nature, local recreation and history educational trail for the agglomeration of Aarau and is in the process of clarifying a possible implementation with the municipality of Küttigen. The centuries-old tunnels and entrances are a testament to local Swiss history and the hard work of ancestors who helped establish today's prosperity.

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Bieler, Josua: A tunnel from ancient ore mining has collapsed: "Caution, danger to life!" . In: Aargauer Zeitung, March 12, 2014. ( online )
  2. ^ Quartierverein Rombachtäli: History of the Rombachtäli , In: Naturauftakt Rombachtäli 2.0 , Flyer, 2018. ( PDF )
  3. ^ Atlas of Switzerland
  4. ↑ a b Pestalozzi, Martin: The Hungerberg-Erzstollen in Rombach as a seasonal job 200 years ago: statements from a note . In: Aarauer Neujahrsblätter , Volume (year): 77 (2003), pp. 89–91. ( pdf ).
  5. ↑ ( Hans Konrad Escher :) About the Bernese iron mine in the Aarauer Erzberge  (...), o. O. u. J., Bavarian State Library. ( Digitized versionhttp: //vorlage_digitalisat.test/1%3Dhttps%3A%2F%2Freader.digitale-sammlungen.de%2Fde%2Ffs1%2Fobject%2Fdisplay%2Fbsb10292806_00001.html~GB%3D~IA%3D~MDZ%3D%0A~ SZ% 3D ~ double-sided% 3D ~ LT% 3D ~ PUR% 3D )
  6. ↑ Oberforst- und Bergamt, Oberforst- and mining inspectors, district forest inspectors : forest management 1803-1852 , 1803-1870. ( Holdings in the Aargau State Archives )
  7. ↑ a b c Hunziker-Byland, Jacob. 100 years of savings company Küttigen 1834–1934 . Commemorative publication, with contributions to the local history of Küttigen. An anniversary gift from the cash register. With 1 portrait board. II, 176 S. Rombach, Rombach business books factory, 1934. swissbib
  8. ↑ Rudolf Wolf: Biographies on the Cultural History of Switzerland , 1895, p. 272 ​​ff., (Google Books)
  9. ↑ meyerschestollen.ch - The Meyerschen Stollen Aarau
  10. ^ Bettina Falk Falcone: Erzstollen am Hungerberg near Aarau . In: Johann Rudolf Meyer and Johann Samuel Gruner - Two pioneers of mining in Switzerland . In: Minaria Helvetica , 23a / 2003, Swiss Society for Historical Mining Research (ed.). ISSN 1018-7421 ( PDF ), p. 44.
  11. ↑ Link to the online site map , (layer archaeological sites)

Coordinates: 47 ° 24 '27.6 "  N , 8 ° 1' 44.3"  E ; CH1903:  644,557  /  250929