Eschweiler Kohlberg
The Eschweiler Kohlberg is the north-eastern part of the Inderevier in Eschweiler and thus part of the Aachener Revier . It was divided into seam districts: the “Feldenend” district near Bergrath in the north, “Buschend” near Weisweiler / Wilhelmshöhe and “Hundend” in the south. The concessions at Eschweiler Kohlberg acquired by Wältgens in 1784 formed the basis of the Eschweiler Mining Association EBV , which was founded fifty years later .
Beginnings
In 1394 coal mining and the Eschweiler Kohlberg are mentioned for the first time as "Koylberg zu Eschwylre". Coal is initially mined in small shafts and mainly in numerous pings without major technology at shallow depths in so-called small - scale mining . Even today there is low-quality coal just below the surface in the Eschweiler city forest and the forest school settlement . Large buyers for the hard coal mined in Eschweiler Kohlberg were mainly the so-called copper masters in the Eschweiler-Stolberg area around the middle of the 17th century with a total annual volume of 15,000 tons .
Drainage
With increasing depth, the pit water became a problem, so that dewatering - also known as "horse art" and "man's art" - became more and more important. The first mines in the Eschweiler city forest were drained through the Hundsgracht into the Inde . In 1555 horse art is mentioned, and by 1571 at the latest water wheels are in use. In 1632 the essential art of men - named after the Lords of Jülich - is established. The dewatering becomes a motor of technological development, and so in 1794 the first steam engine in the Aachen area (or even - according to other sources - Germany) in Eschweiler-Pump is put into operation for dewatering. The pump house on the lower Luisenstrasse is now a listed building.
Since the dewatering was the responsibility of the Lords of Jülich, the coal fields were limited to the depths, that is, limited in their depth. It was not until 1805 that this regulation was abolished by the French administration granting Johann Peter Wältgens and Carl Englerth a major concession .
Internal and external works
The pits of the Eschweiler Kohlberg were divided into internal and external works, which separated the “Padtkohl” seam . The name "internal works" refers to the fact that these pits were in the Indemulde, the "external works" outside. The use of the outer works referred to all seams from the outset, whereas the inland works until 1805 only contained individual seams or seam discrete areas. Inland works were the hard coal mines “Aue”, “Centrum” and “Reserve”. External works were the pits “Atsch”, “Birkengang” and “Propstei”.