Düppenweiler mine
The historic copper mine in Düppenweiler is a visitor mine in the Beckingen district of Düppenweiler in Saarland .
history
The copper deposits on Weltersberg were discovered in 1723 by a farmer named Junkmann while plowing. Remacle de Hauzeur, a Walloon , set up the mine a little later and employed up to 300 miners . Most of them immigrated from Bohemia and Saxony . His success was so great that he was eventually said to have found not only copper but also a gold vein . However, he also had to struggle with problems: After the tunnels had been driven further and further , so much water penetrated that a so-called horse art - a horse göpel - had to be set up to keep water flowing . After a compulsory closure of the mine due to disputes between the Elector of Trier and the Lords of Hagen, Hauzeur left Düppenweiler no later than 1735.
More than twenty years later, in 1757, following the decision of the legal dispute, the Lords of Hagen took over the mine as a fief . They leased it soon after to Jean de Dauphine, who had it shut down. In 1769, Franz Georg von Zandt and his partner de Gersonne put the plant back into operation and discovered further rich copper ore deposits. But they too failed because of the problem of water ingress. Even the later operators of the mine could not cope with this difficulty. In 1767, the then operator de Gerin had the idea of lifting the water using an atmospheric steam engine . His company went bankrupt before the already delivered and half-assembled machine was ready for operation.
Even under the management of the Dillinger Hütte , which operated the mine relatively successfully from 1824 to 1828, the worthwhile lower levels could not be reached. In 1916 the mine was finally closed, although the Dillinger Hütte still had a concession to mine copper until 1991.
Visitor mine
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In the late 20th century (on October 8, 1986, the mayor at the time submitted the first application to reopen the old mine) it was decided to turn the former copper mine into a visitor mine. However, it took more than five years for the project to get going in a targeted manner. After the sponsorship of the copper mine in 1992, the Hüttenschacht, later the Sello and Hauzeur shafts and the associated galleries were made accessible and a mine chapel ("Barbarakapelle"), the shaft roofs and the shaft house of the Hauzeur shaft were built above ground . Visitor operations began at the end of 1995. In 1999 the second expansion phase was completed, in which the new Barbaraschacht was also made accessible. This was followed by the reconstruction of the steam engine foundation and the establishment of an information center, which the association named "Huthaus" based on similar facilities in the Ore Mountains (from here the first miners came to Düppenweiler around 1725). The stamp mill, the copper smelter (both with water wheel drive) and an almost thirteen meter high mine pyramid can also be seen above ground. The underground facilities can only be viewed as part of a guided tour of the new Barbaraschacht. Since 2005 the guides have been supported by a sound and light installation, the so-called "Mystallica". During the thirty-minute guided tour underground, visitors learn interesting facts about the dangerous and strenuous work of miners in an ore mine.
The sponsoring association (merged with the former Heimatverein Düppenweiler in 2005 and entered in the register of associations under the name "Kupferbergwerk Düppenweiler eV, Association for History and Culture") has so far provided more than 100,000 hours of voluntary work and a history project unique in the region in "public-honorary partnership " created. The concept and the great enthusiasm of the association members were decisive for the grantors at the EU, the Saarland state government, the Merzig-Wadern district and, last but not least, the Beckingen community for the up to 70 percent grants. A working group of skilled former miners is constantly busy uncovering further tunnels and making repairs promptly.
The sponsoring association does not only see itself as an entrepreneur in matters of "visitor mine". He also cultivates the culture of the miners in historical costumes with layers of mettles, smelting days, theater events and lectures. The inexhaustible songs of mining are cultivated and presented to the public by the nine-member vocal ensemble "Die Bergsänger des Kupferbergwerk Düppenweiler".
Web links
Coordinates: 49 ° 24 ′ 45.9 ″ N , 6 ° 46 ′ 58.9 ″ E