Historic sites of mercury mining: Almadén and Idrija

Historic sites of mercury mining: Almadén and Idrija
UNESCO world heritage
Headframe of the Almadén mine
National territory:	Slovenia Spain
Type:	Culture
Criteria :	(ii) (iv)
Surface:	104.1 ha
Reference No .:	1313
History of enrollment
Enrollment:	2012  (session 36)

Historic Sites mercury recovery: Almadén and Idrija is one of the UNESCO -listed site of world cultural heritage . The transnational world heritage site comprises several individual sites in the cities of Almadén in Spain and Idrija in Slovenia . Together they represent the two largest mercury mines in the world, which were in operation until recently.

background

Mercury is a rare metal that was and is used in a variety of technical, chemical, and industrial applications. It is obtained through a reaction of the mercury ore cinnabar (mercury sulfide, or HgS for short) with oxygen ( roasting process ) .

Is one of the world's largest deposits of cinnabar, the deposit of Almaden in Spain . The Almadén mine was one of the most important European cinnabar mining sites for over 2000 years. In 2003 the mine was closed and converted into a show mine, the Parque Minero de Almadén .

Mercury ore was found in Idrija in Slovenia in 1493 and mined for about 500 years. The Idrija mercury mine was the second largest in the world when it was closed in the 1970s. Parts of the old mine can be visited.

enrollment

The two cities of mercury were originally nominated together with the silver city of San Luis Potosí in Mexico . In 2009 and 2010 the World Heritage Committee postponed the decision. San Luis Potosí was added to the World Heritage List in 2010 as part of the Camino Real de Tierra Adentro . At its meeting in 2012, the World Heritage Committee decided to include the application, which had been reduced to the two mercury cities, in the World Heritage list.

To justify the outstanding universal meaning, it says among other things:

“These two mining towns, whose origins go back to antiquity and the Middle Ages, show the long period in which a socio-technical mining system specific to this metal was in operation and the development process it went through. The control of the mercury extraction allowed the control of the market, which, because of its crucial role in the extraction of silver from deposits in the New World, quickly assumed intercontinental proportions. "

The entry was made on the basis of criteria (ii) and (iv).

“Criterion (ii): Mercury was extracted in a very limited number of mines, the two largest of which were Almadén and Idrija. Since the Renaissance in Europe, activity took on an international dimension. Their global strategic importance increased steadily, especially due to their role in the development of gold and silver mines in America. The exchange relationships were at the same time economic, financial and technical in nature. "

“Criterion (iv): The Almadén and Idrija quarries represent the most important legacy left by intensive mercury extraction, especially in modern times and in the present. This double testimony is unique and illustrates the different industrial, territorial, urban and social elements of a specific socio-technical system in mining and metal production "

scope

The serial world heritage site comprises twelve areas, 5 of them in Spain and 7 in Slovenia. These areas contain not only the two mines, but also buildings and sites related to the history of mining and the life of the miners. Together, the areas have a protected area of ​​104.1 hectares. They are surrounded individually or in groups by buffer zones. The dams in Idrija were originally nominated without a buffer zone, but are now also surrounded by buffer zones.

Areas in Spain

designation	Protection area	Buffer zone	Remarks	image
Old town of Almadén ( location )	48.98 ha	1117 ha	The area includes the western part of the historic town center of Almadén , in which, among other things, the Parque Minero de Almadén with the Almadén mine , the Castillo de Retamar , the Academia de Minas , the Church of San Sebastián , the house of the Inquisitor and remains of the house of the Superintendents lie.	( more pictures )
Building the Mina del Castillo ( Location )	0.22 ha		The 18th century tunnel of the Mina del Castillo was the main entrance to the Almadén mine. At the entrance to the gallery there is a walled area with the remains of service and residential buildings.
Real Cárcel de Forzados ( location )	0.11 ha		Archaeological remains of the former prison for the slave laborers working in the mine , the only part still preserved as a ruin is the San Miguel prison chapel.
Real Hospital de Mineros de San Rafael ( location )	0.1 ha		Hospital for the miners suffering from mercury poisoning	( more pictures )
Bullring ( location )	0.25 ha		second oldest bullring in Spain, building with a hexagonal floor plan, also contains 24 apartments for seasonal workers.	( more pictures )

Areas in Slovenia

designation	Protection area	Buffer zone	Remarks	image
Old town of Idrija ( location )	47.33 ha	563.6 ha	In the old town of Idrija including the Antonius studs, the applied around 1500 first lug are the Mercury Mine Idrija , the Gewerkenegg Castle , City Hall, the department store of the mine, the theater of the mine, the School of Science and the Church of the Holy Trinity .	( more pictures )
Smelting plant ( location )	0.6 ha		Place of smelting of the mercury ore extracted from the mine
Kamšt water pump  ( location ) , Rake water channel  ( location )  and Kobila dam  ( location ) Josefsschacht	1.61 ha		At the Kobila dam water from the idrijca derived and passed over the rake channel to Idrija, where it by means of a water wheel , a water pump drive, pumping out the penetrated into the mine water. The Josefsschacht, built in 1786 near the waterwheel, was the second mine shaft in Idria	( more pictures )
Kanomeljske klavže ( location )	0.71 ha	? Ha	Klause ( weir ) in the area of Gorenja Kanomilja This and the following Klausen served to to accumulate water and then release it into the surrounding forests felled timber to support the mine shaft by Holztrift to create to Idrija
Klavže na Idrijci ( location )	1.21 ha	? Ha	Hermitage on the Idrijca river in the Vojsko region	( more pictures )
Putrihove klavže ( location )	0.49 ha	? Ha	Hermitage at the Belca tributary to the Idrijca in the Idrijska Bela area	( more pictures )
Brusove klavže ( location )	2.49 ha		Hermitage at the Belca tributary to the Idrijca in the Idrijska Bela area	( more pictures )

literature

• Heritage of Mercury. Almadén and Idrija . Nomination letter for inclusion in the UNESCO World Heritage. Spain, Slovenia January 2011.

• Historic sites of mercury mining: Almadén and Idrija . In: The World Heritage . Frederking & Thaler, Munich 2015, ISBN 978-3-95416-181-2 , pp. 858 .
• Mercury mines in Almadén and Idrija . In: The UNESCO World Heritage . Kunth Verlag, Munich 2017, ISBN 978-3-95504-413-8 , pp. 264 .

Web links

Commons : Heritage of Mercury. Almadén and Idrija  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Historic sites of mercury mining: Almadén and Idrija on the UNESCO World Heritage Center website ( English and French ).

Individual evidence

1. ^ Official names English Heritage of Mercury. Almadén and Idrija , French Patrimoine du mercure. Almadén et Idrija , German translation according to the World Heritage List. In: Unesco.de. Retrieved July 4, 2020 . 
2. ↑ ^{a b c d} Heritage of Mercury. Almadén and Idrija. In: whc.unesco.org. UNESCO World Heritage Center, accessed July 4, 2020 . 
3. ↑ Decision: 33 COM 8B.26. In: whc.unesco.org. UNESCO World Heritage Center, 2009, accessed July 15, 2020 . 
4. ↑ Decision: 34 COM 8B.40. In: whc.unesco.org. UNESCO World Heritage Center, 2010, accessed July 15, 2020 . 
5. ↑ Decision: 36 COM 8B.39. In: whc.unesco.org. UNESCO World Heritage Center, 2012, accessed July 15, 2020 . 
6. ↑ ^{a b} Heritage of Mercury. Almadén and Idrija. Maps. In: whc.unesco.org. UNESCO World Heritage Center, accessed July 18, 2020 . 
7. ↑ Nomination letter p. 15

 Map with all coordinates: OSM | WikiMap