Baron von Burgker coal and ironworks

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Baron von Burgker coal and ironworks
legal form Private
founding 1819
resolution 1930
Reason for dissolution bankruptcy
Seat Burgk
management Maximilian Dathe von Burgk
Number of employees 1,600 (as of 1868)
Branch Mining, ironworks

The Freiherr von Burgker Steinkohlen- und Eisenhüttenwerke around Burgk (today's Freital ) were a privately run Saxon mining company that was active in mining on the orographically right-hand side of the Weißeritz in the 19th and first half of the 20th century and was one of the leading mining companies in Döhlener Pelvis belonged. The company's headquarters were at Burgk Castle . The activities of the coal and ironworks contributed significantly to the development of the village of Burgk and the surrounding areas.

history

Carl Friedrich August Freiherr Dathe von Burgk (1791–1872), founder of the coal and ironworks

Beginnings

In the area of the manor Burgk was already in 1571 on a small scale mining of coal operated. In 1767, the manor and the associated coal fields became the property of Carl Gottfried Dathe. This had new shafts sunk and began in 1773 with the construction of the Burgker Weißeritz tunnel for pit drainage.

In his will from 1797, he elevated the manor to a family entrepre- neurship . After his death on July 4, 1802, Carl Gottlieb Dathe took over the management of the estate, whose successor after his death on July 10, 1816 was Wilhelmine Sophie Dathe, nee. Kretzschmar. After her death on May 12, 1819, Carl Friedrich August Freiherr Dathe von Burgk took over the Burgk manor and the associated mining facilities on October 10, 1819. This is considered to be the hour of birth of the Baron von Burgker Steinkohlenwerke. The mining facilities included first five bays ( Alter Schacht , Kunstschacht , Wilhelmina bay , Berger bay , Bormannschacht ) and a drainage adit.

Operation under Carl Friedrich August Dathe von Burgk

Dathe von Burgk, who was fascinated by mining from his youth, quickly began to reorganize and modernize the mining on the right of the Weißeritz, which had been managed in a decentralized manner until then. In doing so, he took over all the ideas and improvements that could be used for his own operational management from the other mines of the Plauen reason , but avoided costly experiments.

Mountain officials' residence on Wilhelminenschacht

As early as 1822, the first steam engine for dewatering was used on the Wilhelminenschacht . In 1823 the first attempts to coke the extracted coal began. Five years later, in 1828, city ​​gas was generated for the first time ; Public gas lighting was installed in Burgk . Within a few years, Burgk's hard coal works developed into an important mining operation. By 1830, 700 to 800 miners were extracting around 800,000 bushels of coal a year. With the Erdmann , Augustus and Fortuna shafts , new systems were built. A steam hoisting machine was used for the first time on the Fortuna shaft sunk in 1835/36 .

During trips abroad to Westphalia and Belgium ( Cockerill in Seraing ), Dathe von Burgk recognized early on the possibilities offered by a combination of hard coal mines and iron works. The company was therefore expanded in 1826/27 by two small outdated iron hammers in Obercarsdorf and Dölzschen , which were converted into modern iron and rolling mills.

At the location of the iron hammer Dölzschen founded in 1794 (since 1846 "König-Friedrich-August-Hütte") Dathe von Burgk put the first Saxon coke blast furnace into operation in 1842 and received a state bonus of 25,000 thalers for it. He obtained the iron ore needed for smelting from Magnetitzechen, which he had also acquired, in Berggießhübel . Since the coke quality of the Burgker coal works did not allow permanent smelting, the blast furnace was shut down again in 1849. In October 1873, the "König-Friedrich-August-Hütte" became the property of Deutsche Bank .

In order to develop new coal fields, Dathe von Burgk bought the Kohlsdorf estate in 1843, the Pesterwitz manor in 1848, the Roßthal manor in 1852 and the Wilmsdorf manor in 1863 . Both the manors and the coal works were uniformly managed by the central administration formed after 1820, a construction of joint management of agricultural and mining operations that is unique in Germany.

Directed by Arthur Dathe von Burgk

In 1849 Dathe von Burgk transferred the management of the company to his son Karl Christian Arthur Freiherr von Burgk (born October 31, 1823, † June 28, 1897).

As early as 1839, a number of shafts in the so-called Lower Revier of the coal works were closed because the coal fields had been dismantled (1839 Alter Schacht , 1849 Bormannschacht , 1865 Fortunaschacht , 1867 Bergerschacht and Wilhelminenschacht and 1893 the Augustusschacht ). New explorations concentrated on the so-called Upper Revier of the plant. Here in 1837 the sinking of the Neuhoffnungsschacht began , followed by the Segen-Gottes-Schacht in 1856 . To the east of it in Neubannewitz, the Glückauf shaft was sunk in 1867 and expanded to become a central shaft. The Marienschacht in Bannewitz followed in 1886 as the last new large shaft . In 1887, coal production in the Neuhoffnungsschacht was stopped.

The funeral of the victims at the blessing of God bay (illustration in the gazebo 1869)

In 1868 the company had the largest workforce with 1,600 employees. A year later (1869) a firedamp explosion occurred on August 2nd in the interconnected pit fields of the Segen-Gottes-Schacht and the Neue-Hope-Schacht . 276 miners died. It is the worst disaster in the Saxon mining industry to date. Near the Segen-Gottes-Schacht there is a memorial above the mass grave of the dead miners.

Guided tour under Maximilian Dathe von Burgk

In 1897 Dathe took over the management of the company from Burgk's grandson Carl Friedrich August Maximilian Freiherr Dathe von Burgk († November 8, 1931). Under his leadership, production declined more and more at the beginning of the 20th century due to the limited area of ​​the deposits, despite intensive exploration. Coal production in the Segen-Gottes-Schacht was stopped in 1916. After the First World War , coal was only mined in the Glückauf- and Marienschacht under steadily deteriorating conditions. In 1919, the Burgker Werke had to join the Sächsische Steinkohlensyndikat mbH Zwickau , which was founded in the same year under pressure from the state . From 1929, the shaft safety pillars in the two remaining shafts were dismantled. But even this could no longer prevent the discontinuation of unprofitable mining. The last coals were mined on the Marienschacht on April 11, 1930 and on the Glückauf-Schacht on April 14, 1930.

The factory was officially closed on March 31, 1930. In order to ensure the continued existence of the company, the briquette factory remained in operation on the site of the Glückauf shaft . She works with plain coals of Saxon coal plant Zauckerode that have been delivered over the Windbergbahn. Furthermore, a coal mine was operated to sell the coal. On July 1, 1931, the company, now trading under the name Burgker Werke , left the coal syndicate. Operations were finally closed in 1946.

Coal mines

The following coal mines, among others, were under the management of the Freiherrlich von Burgker Steinkohlen- und Eisenhüttenwerke (location and operating time in brackets):

Workforce / output

year Attached team Delivery rate in t
1868 1,750 259.148
1878 1,169 202.329
1888 1,050 221.494
1898 1,031 222.230
1908 1,135 262,382
1918 871 188.158
1928 821 153,785
1938 890 160,778

literature

Web links

Wikisource: The striking weather at Burgk. (Journal Article, 1869)  - Sources and full texts
Wikisource: In the grave of the buried. (Journal Article, 1869)  - Sources and full texts

Coordinates: 51 ° 0 ′ 14 "  N , 13 ° 40 ′ 11"  E