Walferdingen gypsum mines
The Walferdingen gypsum mines are a former tunnel mine for gypsum mining in the Luxembourg town of Walferdingen .
history
Gypsum mining has been going on in Walferdingen for a very long time , but it is not known exactly when the digging for the gypsum started. But it could be that the Romans, who lived in the Alzette valley, used the gypsum to build their houses. In the area of Walferdingen, Steinsel and Heisdorf there is one of the most extensive gypsum deposits in the country.
It was not until 1869, when the Irthum family came into possession of the gypsum deposits in Heisdorf and Walferdingen, that they were exploited industrially, initially only in open-cast mining . This family, in turn, leased it to Jean-Baptiste Kintzelé for 1,500 francs a year, who ensured that the first shaft was built in Heisdorf. Later, the interior of the Sonnebierg tunnel was dug for gypsum mining. There were two different entrances to these tunnels: in today's Mercatoris-Strasse, which was formerly also called Gipsweg, and an entrance at the end of Prince-Henri-Strasse (photo).
The entire underground network had a length of 16 km at the end and rails were also laid over 12 km. In the Mercatoris Straße the plaster stones were transported manually on rails, on the Sonnebierg a steam engine was used, which made the heavy work a little easier. Around 25 workers were employed in Heisdorf and Walferdingen. This gypsum industry has grown steadily and even gained international importance when the railway connection took place in 1906. At that time, gypsum products could be shipped from Walferdingen all over the world, with Belgium and France being the main customers. The heyday was in the 1930s and after the Second World War. Mathias Irthum had taken over the management and took care of important modernizations. The increasing use of technology ensured that fewer and fewer workers were needed. In September 1989 the mining operations came to an end when the site was purchased by the Luxembourg state.
On the other side of the Alzette valley in the Bereldingen district , gypsum was also extracted in open and underground mining. Gypsum mining has had a lasting impact on the landscape. Many hills in the region were created by the quarrying of gypsum, the dry limestone soil led to corresponding vegetation with pine forests. The former dams with wagon tracks for transport are now hiking trails. Several gypsum ponds were created as water reservoirs. Around Bereldingen, a district of Walferdingen, a hiking trail on the subject of plaster was created.
Area today
A large part of the area has been declared a nature reserve Sonnebierg .
The University of Luxembourg uses part of the mine for physical measurements. In the rear part of the tunnel system there is a measurement laboratory with an absolute gravimeter from the European Center for Geodynamics and Seismology. It is one of only 40 locations worldwide for an absolute gravimeter. The reasons are the prevailing ideal conditions with year-round constant temperatures of around 13 ° C, the dryness and a low noise level caused by humans.
Web links
Gypsum mill and gypsum mine Walferdingen on a website on the industrial history of Luxembourg (German, French)
Individual evidence
- ↑ The gypsum mines of Walferdingen ( Memento of the original from February 19, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Walferdingen community
- ^ Kauffmann, Roland. "Sonnebierg, or the natural wealth". In: Walferdingen: History, Culture, Nature , ed. by Joseph Bour, 226, Walferdingen 1993.
- ↑ Infoflyer (PDF, 2.1 MB) for gypsum path
- ↑ International rendezvous of the Absolutgravimeter in Walferdingen ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , University of Luxembourg
- ↑ website ECGS
Coordinates: 49 ° 39 '36 " N , 6 ° 6' 9.3" E