Hüttenstollen Osterwald
The Osterwald Hüttenstollen in Osterwald was a mine in the eastern Osterwald coal mining area that was excavated in 1842 . Already in 1585 hard coal was mined on the Osterwald ridge on behalf of Duke Julius of Braunschweig . The operating phase lasted with a temporary interruption until 1953. Today the steel tunnel is used as a visitor mine.
Conveyed goods
The Wealden coal in the Osterwald was funded . With an age of 100 to 140 million years, it is the youngest type of coal. The dismantling had to be done lying down, as the five seams are only between 35 and 70 cm thick . The coal obtained was used in the Osterwalder Glashütte from 1701 . This was the first hard coal-fired fine glass works east of the Rhine .
Investments
In the course of time the following shafts and tunnels were built in the mine :
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history
prehistory
The history of the Osterwald Hüttenstollen goes back to the year 1584, when, at the instigation of Duke Julius, coal was mined for the first time in the Osterwald. According to the oldest document, coal was mined as early as 1586. For this purpose, the Duke had brought miners from the Harz region , who founded the Osterwald settlement around 1585.
Hüttenstollen
From 1685 to 1694 the mine was leased to the Hemmendorfer Salzwerk before the Osterwalder Glashütte was founded in 1701. Around 1740 the entire system was rebuilt and thoroughly improved. In order to enable more cost-effective extraction, a water tunnel was driven from 1746 to 1767 . Between 1810 and 1813, new coal deposits were discovered in the Osterwald on the Hohe Warte. Another overhaul of the entire plant led to an increase in funding from 1833. There was a significant expansion of production in 1842 when five new tunnels were driven, including the hut tunnel. The workforce at that time was around 300 men. As the name suggests, the Hüttenstollen mainly mined hard coal for the glassworks in Osterwald.
End of funding
After the annexation of the Kingdom of Hanover by Prussia in 1866, the mine came into Prussian ownership. The underground construction shaft was sunk between 1879 and 1890 . In 1899 the pits were sold to the factory for fire and acid-proof products in Vallendar on the Rhine. In 1901 the mine went bankrupt to Siemens . The workforce increased from 150 to 175 buddies. In 1926 12 miners drove into the “Gustav-Stollen” for the last shift.
There was a brief resurgence in production in 1945 when five miners uncovered a new seam in the Plattenbrink . From 1948 coal was from the Hüttenstollen back to days brought. The promotion was stopped again in 1953. The Hüttenstollen was in operation for the last time in 1954 when clay was extracted from it .
today
In 1980 the Association for the Promotion of Mining was founded in Osterwald . He converted the abandoned steel tunnel into a visitor mine with an attached mine museum. The visitor mine opened on June 28, 1980, the museum in 1985.
Web links
Coordinates: 52 ° 6 ′ 52 ″ N , 9 ° 37 ′ 32 ″ E