Luther pit
| Luther pit | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| General information about the mine | |||
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| Information about the mining company | |||
| Start of operation | 1860 | ||
| End of operation | 1895 | ||
| Funded raw materials | |||
| Degradation of | iron | ||
| Geographical location | |||
| Coordinates | 51 ° 0 '43.9 " N , 7 ° 12' 22.3" E | ||
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| Location | Dürscheid | ||
| local community | Kürten | ||
| District ( NUTS3 ) | Rheinisch-Bergischer Kreis | ||
| country | State of North Rhine-Westphalia | ||
| Country | Germany | ||
| District | Bensberg ore district | ||
The Luther mine is a former iron mine in the Bensberg ore district in Kürten . The site belongs to the district of Dürscheid .
history
The old mine
The oldest document on mining in the area between Miebach and Lenzholz in today's municipality of Kürten dates from December 16, 1761 . It was a mine called "Anna Fundgrube". Later it was known as Grube Katharinaglück, which had been consolidated with the Grube Luther since August 27, 1860 and from then on was operated under the common name Luther. From the document we learn that a Mr. Peter Moll from Lennep on January 8, 1752 had a mutation "between the Höffgen Miebach and the Höffgen Lentzholtz" inserted on January 8, 1750 in the field in the Steinbach parish in the parish of Kürten "renovated" , that is, he renewed his assumption of April 25, 1750 on January 8, 1752. When he asked for confirmation in this regard, there had been a dispute between him and the widow of the councilor Gumpertz as heiress. The mining court later came to a settlement between the widow Gumpertz and the widow Moll - Peter Daniel Moll had died in the meantime - on December 23, 1755, with which the mining rights were transferred to "Mr. Moll Wittib and heirs". However, it took a few years before the mining officials from Düsseldorf inspected the mine on July 15, 1761 and then the loan could be made on December 16, 1761. This resulted in a right to extract “iron stone and other minerals, except gold and precious stones” in a square around a shaft in the center .
Industrial mining
Further written information about the history of the Luther mine is contained in the records in the mining land register on the consolidation with simultaneous authorization to extract lead ores and pebbles for the entire consolidated mine on August 27, 1860. From then on, the unification of the the following pit fields :
- Elisabeth-Margarethaglück, this mine field was the heart of the Luther mine with the largest brown iron stone deposit. It is very likely that the aforementioned Hofrat Gumpertz found what he was looking for in the 18th century. However, there is no written evidence from this period. However, there is talk of an "erosion of the large deposits at Miebach and Spitze and their award in 1763". The small area of the pit "auf der Spitz bei Spitz" (Spitz is a district of Kürten near Dürscheid) was muted on February 1st, 1838 by Heinrich Moll from Mülheim am Rhein and Consorten and then kept in operation without interruption. After the field inspection on March 8, 1838, the award was made to Eisenstein on April 20, 1838 .
- Gustav-Adolph, the pit field was awarded to Eisenstein on June 9, 1855.
- Katharinaglück, one also reads the names Catharinaglück and Catharinenglück. Other than the details mentioned above, we have no further information on history from the 18th century. On July 15, 1829, the originally small mining field on Eisenstein was awarded. Although the entire mine property after the consolidation bore the uniform name Luther, the individual field Katharine luck had a special position. This is made clear by a field expansion that was approved on May 26, 1867. The associated situation plan, which was made in February 1866, bears the addition “for the field expansion of the iron stone mine Catharinaglück”.
- Luther, this mine field gave the name to the entire consolidation. It was awarded to Eisenstein on February 18, 1854.
- Pappenheim, the Eisenstein award took place on August 22, 1858.
- Sickingen, the Eisenstein award took place on July 2, 1858.
- Thomas Münzer, the award on Eisenstein took place on February 3, 1860.
The mine ownership of the Luther mine expired on September 24, 1989 in accordance with Section 149, Paragraph 5, Federal Mining Act of August 13, 1980.
Operation and facilities
The first information about the operation of the Luther mine comes from 1869 in the Elisabeth-Margarethaglück mine field. With an average workforce of 70, 25,540 tons of iron stone were extracted. A year later, 39,888 tons were extracted and experimental work was carried out in the neighboring mine fields. In the following years the company was always satisfied with the operating results. With holes were studied the continuation of the deposit towards the north. In the southern open pit teufte to a shaft to 30 meters, and found a rich brown iron ore stock. In addition, the western and southern fields were explored with further drilling. In the course of the various investigations, it was recognized that what we were dealing with here was not superficial but rather iron stone deposits that settled with the limestone layers. In order to determine the continuation of the deposits to the east, the old mining tunnel in the individual field Katharinaglück was started to be excavated . Thereby one found wooden rails of an old transport track made of oak with a conical profile. They were neatly fitted and wedged into wooden sleepers. A band iron fitting formed the tread. These rails were replaced by newly laid iron rails. The insatiable need for iron ore for the new blast furnaces at Friedrich Wilhelms-Hütte in Mülheim an der Ruhr, and in such excellent quality as here, led to the greatest efforts to obtain further information . The largest amounts of iron stone were extracted in the open pit at several places.
In the years from 1875 to 1878 there were no mentions, especially since there were no mining activities. In 1880 only 10 men worked at the Luther mine. From 1881 there was a renewed boost with the employment of an average of 65 to 70 men. However, the importance decreased increasingly. This was particularly due to the fact that the thickness of the overburden had gradually become too strong to clear almost everywhere. One was therefore forced to sink shafts. There has not been an open-cast mine since 1888. In 1892 a shaft was sunk, but it hit the limestone mountains. This meant that a longer route had to be driven to get to the ore deposit . At the end of October 1895, operations at the Luther mine were initially discontinued.
On January 5, 1903, the businessman August Jaeger bought the Luther mine. On March 1, 1907, this ownership was transferred to the newly founded Luther union with Jaeger's participation . In 1905, operations at the Luther mine were resumed. 31 men extracted 3,064 t of brown iron stone from two new shafts and through prospecting in the Katharinaglück field. The shaft, which had previously been sunk to a depth of 40 m, was sunk in 1907 to a total depth of 60 m and provided with a small steam reel conveyor system. 30 m north of this machine shaft , a driving and weather shaft was brought down to the 40 m level and connected to the machine shaft over a stretch. At the Katharinaglück operating point, a 12 m shaft was sunk for test purposes and the old conveyor tunnel began to be rebuilt over a distance of 197 m with great difficulty. By 1908 this work had been completed over a total length of 530 m after laborious work.
In the past, only pure brown iron stone was mined from the entire Luther mine and at the Katharinaglück operating point, which was first transported to the Dürscheider Hütte from 1770 and to the Friedrich-Wilhelms-Hütte in Mülheim an der Ruhr from 1859. Due to the purity of the material, ore processing was neither necessary nor available. Now the intention was to extract the contaminated ores, which occur in large quantities near the surface, and to clean them for later smelting . For this reason, the construction of a processing plant inspitze was planned since 1907 . An approx. 2.5 km long narrow-gauge railway with a locomotive drive was to be built to transport the washing ore from Katharinaglück to Spitze.
The processing was completed in 1909. It was supplied with pit water from a special shaft that was set up in the open pit area . The results of the ore washing were so unsatisfactory that an agitator had to be retrofitted to separate Latvian and ore . It was found, however, that the production volume from the easily recoverable washing ores was not sufficient for a profitable company alone. As an alternative, they turned back to the already partially suspended civil engineering on the 60 m level and the 40 m level of the machine shaft. Shaft II, which was sunk in the previous year, was provided with a small mechanical conveyor system . Nevertheless, the supplies continued to decline. Drilling for new outcrops was unsuccessful. In 1911, 32 men were able to extract 5986 t of iron ore by clearing out the remaining part of the storage area on the 60 m level and then finishing work on shaft I. Shaft II was also closed. Towards the end of the year it was stated: “At the moment there is no longer a real business.” After the First World War, attempts were made again to find what they were looking for at the operating points in Spitze and Miebach. In 1923 and 1924, for example, investigations and clearing-up work are reported. The self-sufficiency efforts during the Nazi era also led to renewed research in 1937. But every time you had to find out that mining was no longer worthwhile.
The formerly independent town of Bensberg used the huge ping of the mine in Spitze as a garbage dump in the 1960s and filled it completely.
Location and relics
Grubenfeld Elisabeth-Margarethaglück
The core area of the former Luther mine was located with the small Elisabeth-Margarethaglück mine field between the Luther and Gustav-Adolph mine fields on the hilltop betweenspitze and Blissenbach. The “Grubenweg”, which runs south past the open pit mine, which has now been filled in, still reminds of the old operation. The rubbish dump borders on a former dump of the opencast mine to the northeast, the slope of which, in some cases over 10 m high, with old trees is still clearly visible. At the foot of this embankment, the pinge of a shaft that is surrounded by a dump is noticeable. In the past, a dump was dumped south of Bölinghoven and east of Dorpe opposite the petrol station. Both heaps border the road from Spitze to Bechen .
Pit field Gustav-Adolph
The Gustav-Adolph mining field lay between Dorpe, Spitze, Keller and Dürscheid. In the forest behind the Kalkofen 17 house there is a large old quarry. From its southern edge, after about 20 m, you come to the pinge of a small test shaft, which is surrounded by a circular heap. Four trenches can be found in the vicinity about 30 to 50 m away.
Katharinaglück mine field
The originally very small mine field Katharinaglück extended between Miebach and Lenzholz. After the field was expanded in 1867, the area between Lenninghausen, Oberhausen, Hufe, Hähn and Miebach was added. Approx. 200 meters after leaving Dürscheid in the direction of Biesfeld, on the left side of the road in the valley basin, there is the mine dump of the conveyor tunnel, on which the house at Wipperfürther Straße 171 is located. The heap is not noticeable because of the trees. Between Miebach and Biesfeld, Lenzhölzer Straße branches off from Wipperfürther Straße to the north. If you follow this road, you will reach a small pond on the left at the end of the housing estate, which was created in a former open-cast mine. In front of the last building a dirt road branches off to the west, which after approx. 200 meters leads between two low heaps. While the southern heap is completely overgrown with grass and fenced in, the material of the northern heap is partially exposed.
Pit field Luther
The Luther mine stretched south of Blissenbach and north of Dürscheid between the road that leads from Spitze to Bechen and Miebach. The street Im Käulchen probably owes its name to the old mining industry. A peg is understood to be a depression or a hole in the terrain. Such a deepening - miners' pinge - begins clearly visible today between houses 24 and 20. Several, sometimes very large pings can be found in the forest between Steeg, Hove, Meiswinkel and the pastures that belong to the Lenzholz farm. They testify to extensive mining activity.
Pappenheim mine field
The Pappenheim mine was on the Winterberg between Dürscheid and Oberbörsch. All relics are now gone. You can only see the remains of the old quarry in the area of the house at Am Buchholzberg 9 a, in which there was also an open-cast mine on Brauneisenstein.
Sickingen mine field
The Sickingen mining field was located west of the road that leads from Spitze to Bechen and reached in the south from the Oberthal farm to federal highway 506 in the north. A farm road goes north from the Oberthal farm to the Nussbaum settlement. Shortly before leaving the forest, after about 350 m you come to a larger pinge, which has been filled in the middle by the road construction. To the east, there are further pings and heaps. In impassable terrain, on a slope that slopes down to the southwest, approx. 200 m northeast of the Oberthal farm , you will find some larger pings and smaller heaps.
Pit field Thomas Münzer
The village of Blissenbach includes the Thomas Münzer mine. A small wood east of Unterblissenbach is littered with many pings and small heaps. According to the deposit map, iron has been found here. However, it cannot be exactly clarified which traces in detail come from mining. Older residents report that large-scale quarry work has also taken place here.
swell
- ↑ a b c Herbert Stahl (editor), Gerhard Geurts , Hans-Dieter Hilden, Herbert Ommer : Das Erbe des Erzes , Volume 3, The pits in the Paffrather Kalkmulde . Bergisch Gladbach 2006, ISBN 3-932326-49-0 , p. 63ff
- ^ Emil Buff, Description of the Deutz mining area, p. 30
literature
- Emil Buff: Description of the Deutz mountain district. Marcus, Bonn 1882 (Unchanged reprint. Förderverein des Bergisches Museum, Bergisch Gladbach 1982 ( Publication by the Förderverein des Bergisches Museum für Bergisches Museum für Bergbau, Handwerk und Gewerbe 1, ZDB -ID 2295238-X )).
- Herbert Stahl (editor), Gerhard Geurts, Hans-Dieter Hilden, Herbert Ommer: The legacy of ore. Volume 3: The pits in the Paffrath Kalkmulde. Bergischer Geschichtsverein Rhein-Berg, Bergisch Gladbach 2006, ISBN 3-932326-49-0 ( series of publications by the Bergisches Geschichtsverein Rhein-Berg eV 49).