Marx-Semler-Stolln

The mouth of the Marx-Semler-Stolln

The Marx-Semler-Stolln is the longest uninterrupted mining building in Germany . With a total length of over 220 km, it is also the largest tunnel system in Germany. His mouth hole is at 323.3  m above sea level. NN at the Zwickauer Mulde in Niederschlema .

It was created in the 15th century to drain the Oberschlemaer and Schneeberg mines and has never been in the mountain-free area since then . Based on the patron saint of the fiefdom, Marcus Semler , the tunnel was called St.-Marcus-Stolln in 1503 . The name changed in the following decades; from 1590 the name Marx-Semler-Stolln is guaranteed. Since 1946, its sole has been the reference point for mining by Wismut AG / SDAG Wismut in the areas of Schneeberg, Oberschlema and Niederschlema-Alberoda.

history

1480 to 1520

With the gradual decline of silver mining in Schneeberg at the end of the 15th century, the King David Standing (Oberschlema copper corridor ) with its extension of over 1000 m, a thickness between one and four meters and an average silver content of 1 percent was of decisive importance mining in the region. On this transition be built pits King David , Upper Nicol Schmidt , Lower Nicol Schmidt , pepper , St. George , St. Erasmus , St. Pancras , St. Barbara , Görner fief and mine faced the problem, the water solution of the deep burrows to guarantee. The idea of ​​a deep tunnel on the Zwickauer Mulde was born in 1481 . According to an order from the Elector , the trades of the St. Marcus and Pfeffer copper mines were enfeoffed with the right to an inheritance tunnel on the Mulde in the Silberwaage mine , where Elector Ernst and Duke Albrecht of Saxony also owned four Kuxe in 1480 started. The Silberwaage mine was mentioned for the first time in 1446. Nothing is known about the progress of the work. In 1491, a copper tunnel located further up in the Schlema Valley is mentioned for the first time, the exact location and course of which are unknown. The copper Tolln must have the aforementioned mines 1499-1500 reached, but the water problems of encroaching into the depths could workings not solve. A deep tunnel should continue to help.

Marcus Semler , who came from Nuremberg, was one of the main trades of these mines with 62 kuxes . Together with his brother Matthias , he inherited a Saigerhütte in Schleusingen from Martin Semler in 1501 . In addition, together with Ullrich Erckel the Elder , who also came from Nuremberg, he was a shareholder in a Nuremberg trading company, whose business field ranged from silver and copper trading to the production and sale of brass products . He therefore had a primary interest in this tunnel.

In the autumn of 1502, Marcus Semler founded a union to encourage an inheritance . On 26 January 1503, Erbstolln was at the hollow in the pit silver scales awarded and "St. Marcus Stolln ”entered in the Schneeberger publishing house. 128 Kuxe were sold. Apart from Marcus Semler and Andreas Matstedt, who also bought Kuxe, the other trades are unknown. Contrary to the usual practice, it was built without any sovereign support. At that time, the only goal of the trades was to dissolve the water in the copper mines that were built on King David and its side ruins .

The starting point of the tunnel is on the Zwickauer Mulde in Niederschlema, near today's train station at 323.3  m above sea level. NN . The distance from the mouth hole to the pit of King David is 3520 m. It can be assumed that the excavation of the tunnel, begun in 1484, was continued under a new name as St.-Marcus-Stolln from 1503. The St.-Marcus-Stolln has 16  light holes up to the King David pit and was probably driven in the opposite direction . Proof of counter-site operation has not yet been provided, although the number of light holes suggests it. About 80 to 100 miners were employed during the excavation . The tunnel runs up to the 15th light hole in the Schlematal valley, which rises only slightly. At 1650 m from the hollow, the light hole 13 has a depth of just 29.21 m on the tunnel bottom . After 2859 m he comes to light hole 15 at 333.3  m above sea level. NN at a depth of 45.13 m. Its average increase on this route is 0.35 percent. When reaching the King David pit , the tunnel brings a depth of 80 m.

The tunnel was driven over long stretches in the main tunnel, an empty morning corridor.

The breakthrough in the King David stands probably took place in 1520. In the Luciae quarter , 200 guilders at Ninth were paid for the first time through the first pits that were loosened from the water to the tunnel works.

Marcus Semler did not live to see the breakthrough. He was killed by Balthasar von Mylaw in 1511 . In September 1511, Count von Henneberg was informed of the manslaughter of Marx Semler . Balthasar von Mylaw justified his act and declared his readiness to stand right before Messrs Reuss in Schleiz .

The Kuxe of Marx Semler went - among other heirs - also to his brother Matthias Semler , who took over the business. In 1513 the trading company with the Erckels was dissolved . The background is the inheritance dispute over a brass smelter in Neubrunn, in which the Semlers were involved. The value of the hut was 19,785 guilders. As a result, the brothers Wolf Erckel and Ullrich Erckel the Younger received all the Semlers' kuxes in mining in Schneeberg, Annaberg and elsewhere and in return gave them all rights to the brass works.

On May 17, 1511, exceptionally heavy rainfall caused a flash flood, which not only devastated the pits in the Schneeberger Revier, but also the Marx-Semler-Stolln. The clean-up work in the tunnel, which began immediately, could probably only be completed in 1512.

Nothing is known about the period between 1513 and 1520.

By 1520, 25,000 thalers had been invested in the tunnel construction. But the benefits for the connected copper mines was low because of the at times very intense degradation due Vertaubung set the Ganges in depth on some pits had before the Stolln reached.

1520 to 1573

Due to overproduction, foreign competition and the exhaustion of the King David standing , the interest of the trades in the copper mines also waned. In 1526, only the Erckel family remained of the old trades. This also had an impact on the Marx-Semler-Stolln. New trades with different interests took over the Kuxe freed here. Among them were the trades of the Rappoldt mine including the Holy Cross and Greif , the trades of the St. Georg mine and those of the Fürstenstolln . The ruling houses of Ernestine and Albertine Saxony have been among the trades of the Marx-Semler-Stolln since 1535 . Barbara Uthmann from Annaberg has also been one of the trades since 1556 . She also owned the Rappoldt treasure trove and was the sole owner of the St. Christoph and King David copper mines . In 1566, the last nine Kuxe of the descendants of the "Stollnaufnehmer" Sigmundt von Witzleben, Wilhelm Semler, Johann Zwusters and Stephan Koppen were reassigned for failure to pay the additional penalties for two years. This was the last time that all Kuxe were awarded without the elector's intervention .

From 1521 the main tunnel was driven from the King David pit from 571 m to the Emperor Heinrich pit . After a further 220 m, the tunnel reached the mine building of the Rätezeche . The tunnel was driven a further 600 m over the Ritterzeche , which was reached in 1532, and over the pit poor widow to the St Georg colliery . The breakthrough with the counterpart of St. Georg took place in 1534.

Here, with the help of the Marx-Semler-Stolln, the effects of the breach of 1516, which had led to the formation of the "Great Wall" at the site of the legendary silver find of 1477, should be investigated, as it was hoped that rich silver ores would be found in the depths.

Obviously, the effects on the level of the Marx-Semler-Adit were so great that the adit of the St. Georg pit brought no further use. At the same time, a tunnel wing was driven from the Kaiser Heinrich pit a further 152 m to the Morgenstern pit and then on towards Gleesberg to the Glücksrad pit . The main tunnel of the Marx-Semler-tunnel was operated from St. Georg and reached the Sperling treasure trove after 175 m in 1536 .

After the great silver treasure of Prince Stoll location on the Prince contract surfaces in 1533 the trades of Fürstenstollns part has been a strong interest in deep water solution of the Prince contract -Fundgrube by the Marx-Semler-Stolln. In addition to the main town, the tunnel was also driven with a wing location from the Sperling find pit over the Sittig find pit and after 500 m in the prince's treaty Flachen penetrated. After another 310 m, you will reach the Prince Treaty Fund. The main tunnel was partially driven in opposite direction to the Weißer Hirsch pit , which it reached in 1539 after 388 m. Here it comes at 351  m above sea level. 38.1 m above sea ​​level below the Fürstenstolln.

After the Marx-Semler-Stolln broke through in 1540 after 266 m with the Katharina-Neufang discovery pit, it reached the Landeskrone pit in 1545 after another 385 m . After reaching the Landeskrone pit , the interest of the trades in the Marx-Semler-Stolln in a further advance visibly waned. They graded Stollnorte to interested unions (e.g. St. Andreas ). It was not until 1554 that the Rappoldt mine was reached after 411 m from the Landeskrone mine . After that, the continued operation of the tunnel was left to the trades of the St. Andreas mine . After 380 m, they reached the St. Andreas discovery pit in 1563 . In the course were driven to Stolln further 330 m to the treasure trove Levites . At this point in time, the water solution through the Fürstenstolln and the Name-Jesus-Stolln was completely sufficient for the pits building in the high mountains, so that from this side there was no interest in a connection to the Marx-Semler-Stolln. The Rosenkranzer Stolln , which was stepped 7 m at the Landeskrone pit , was used to drive up a winged location towards the west and there, after 380 m, reached the Drei Lilien treasure trove .

During the same period, a tunnel wing was opened between the 16th light hole and King David's pit . It reached in 1566 after 240 m the St. Christoph - treasure trove . In the quarter Luciae (September 14th to December 13th) of the year 1548, the exploitation was paid for the first time to the trades of the Marx-Semler-Stolln. Yield was paid in another nine quarters until 1562 .

By 1560, the tunnel - together with its side wings - had already reached a length of around 7500 m. Since the tunnel was driven in ore veins over most of its length, there was a constant risk of collapse . For this reason, 4,000 m of the driveway were made of wood . Due to the rapid deterioration of the wood underground , one was constantly and with considerable financial expenditure busy exchanging rotten wood. A remedy was seen in the lining of large areas of the tunnel. Between 1560 and 1569, Elector August provided 50 guilders a year for the brickwork . During this time, between the mouth hole and the 13th light hole, the tunnels at 334 m and light holes 1 and 6 were dry- lined .

Due to the impoverishment of the ore veins with increasing depth, silver mining in the Schneeberger Revier became increasingly unprofitable. This led to the abandonment of many mines and thus to economic difficulties for the trades of the Marx-Semler-Stolln. In 1569 there were therefore already 58.5 kuxe in the open. The reviving cobalt mining did not bring any use to the tunnel either, as it was used in pits that were not drained by the Marx-Semler-tunnel. The city of Schneeberg therefore asked Elector August to “distribute” the Kuxe. The decline of the Schneeberg silver mining is also documented in 1570 when the Schneeberg Mint, founded in 1483, was merged with the Dresden Mint . Another flash flood, triggered by heavy rainfall in August 1573, severely damaged the Marx-Semler-Stolln. Despite immediate state aid, a large number of the trades then gave up their kuxe. At that time, the tunnel had reached an extension of 8,450 m.

1573 to 1645

In order to accommodate the kuxe who had fallen into the open, the Elector August intervened again and in the next few years transferred them to wealthy and devoted contemporaries, such as the general and official Wolf von Schönberg . He himself was the owner of 16 kuxes. The tunnel was silted up by the flood along its entire length and partially broken. The tunneling and the lining were completely stopped. The opening of the tunnel was tackled from the mouth hole. It was not until 1590 that the Marx-Semler-Stolln was cleared up to the Kaiser Heinrich pit . From there it was decided not to open the main gallery wing over the Ritterzeche , but rather the gallery wing over the Morgenstern discovery pit and to drive the gallery further in the cross rock in the direction of the St. Georg pit . It was hoped that rich silver ores would be encountered again in the area of ​​the “Great Wall”. At this time, only 19.5 Kuxe were built, of which 16 by Elector Christian I . By 1596, Elector Christian II took over another 20 kuxe. It stayed that way until the complete takeover of the Marx-Semler-Stolln.

The breakthrough in the upper part of the tunnel took place on October 13, 1602. After the breakthrough, the pressure of the water behind it led to the wedging of a block of rock that impeded the drainage. Despite the ban, the miners Tobias Donat and Matthes Hopp removed the rock on October 14th. The erupting water masses killed the two miners, destroyed the supporting structure and silted up the tunnel up to the Morgenstern shaft . It was not until mid-1603 that all damage to the breakthrough was repaired and the St. Georg , Poor Widow and Ritterzeche pits were drained again through the Marx-Semler-Stolln.

The unstoppable decline of the Schneeberg silver mining industry also put the Marx-Semler-Stolln in distress. In order to improve the financial situation, Elector Christian II ordered in a decree of June 25, 1604 that in future the Stollnneuntel should be paid for from colored cobalt and bismuth.

In 1605, the tunnel wings were turned into the Three Lilies and the Levites .

All attempts to sell the free kuxe failed because of the increasingly deteriorating economic situation. A further and necessary opening of the Schneeberger ore field could not take place due to the lack of financially strong trades. The reason for the lack of capital is the lack of sufficient silver coins to maintain the flow of money. This led to the time of the Kipper and Wipper with their peak in 1623. By today's standards, one would speak of hyperinflation. The complete takeover of the free Kuxe and thus the Marx-Semler-Stolln by the reigning Elector Johann Georg I took place between 1612 and 1613.

The Thirty Years' War , which began in 1618, had negative effects on the economy - despite Saxony's neutrality. The debts of the Marx-Semler-Stolln rose to 1014 guilders by 1623. At times, the shift supervisors in the tunnel had to advance private funds in order to keep the tunnel in operation. The income of the tunnel sank to zero because the affected pits were not able to raise the required tunnel ninth.

In 1631 Saxony entered the Thirty Years War. As a result, the Swedish troops under General Holck devastated Schneeberg in August 1632 and 1633, marking the economic low point. Cobalt production had dropped to 15 percent of 1622, and silver production ceased. Due to the elector's acute lack of money, the maintenance of the Marx-Semler-Stolln was discontinued in 1633, with the exception of occasional occupancies, in favor of the royal princely gallery. In the course of the next few years, the flow of water in the Marx-Semler-Stolln was severely impaired by silting up after extreme amounts of precipitation in 1640 and 1645. As a result of the maintenance of the tunnel, which was no longer carried out, some serious fractures occurred, for example in 1637 in the area of ​​the Red Ridge, in 1638 at about 1600 m from the mouth hole above the 13th light hole and in 1640 at about 870 m from the mouth hole at light hole 9 the tunnel was no longer functional and the water ran up to the sole of the Fürstenstollen.

1645 to 1720

In 1645 they began again to work through the tunnel from the mouth hole. In January 1648 could cave- be gewältigt the light hole. 9 In April of the same year another break occurred at a distance of 1062 m from the mouth hole between light hole 13 and light hole 14. In 1649/50 this fracture was overcome, and in October 1650 the fracture, which was about 1,600 m from the mouth hole, was overcome. It was not until the end of August 1660 that several breaks in the area of ​​the Red Ridge were overcome and bypassed . Another break in the area of King David's Pit was repaired in the period that followed. The water drainage in the tunnel was restored and the first income could be recorded.

In order to get to the other pits more quickly, the Berggemach in Dresden asked in 1661 to employ more people instead of seven workers and two climbers and, if possible, to work in three shifts. The money needed for this was provided by the mountain room. The tunnel generated income from the tunnel nine, even if Elector Johann Georg II still had to bear two thirds of the expenses. Under these conditions, the work progressed quickly, even if, as required, three shifts were not worked.

Cobalt mining in Schneeberg brought increasing yields again, but the high-yield cobalt mines in the Neustädtel area were still not connected to the Marx-Semler-Stolln. Due to the cobalt contracts, which have been renewed again and again since 1610, the prices and purchase quantities were regulated by the blue color works . This brought additional security to cobalt mining. Silver mining no longer played a role at that time.

The Katharina Neufang mine was reached in 1662 . This subsequently developed into the most productive cobalt mine in Schneeberg. In doing so, she helped the Marx-Semler-Stolln to further increase its income.

In 1663 there was a serious break in the bottom of King David's pit . The fracture reached to the surface of the day and completely buried the tunnel. The necessary work through the break lasted two months. After the work was done, the main work consisted of silting the tunnel bottom and maintaining the timber construction.

From 1664 work began on the Katharina-Neufang -stolln wing in the direction of the Weishäuptel discovery pit. On June 23, 1668 the Elisabeth shaft of the Weishäuptel discovery pit was reached.

Since no new excavations were made and the further work on old mine workings was not carried out in the following period, the income of the Marx-Semler-Stolln began to decline again from 1670. The workforce was then reduced to three to four men from 1672.

As a result of a flood in 1683, there was a break between the 12th and 13th light hole. Thereupon the workforce was increased again to eight men in order to eliminate the break.

It was not until the middle of 1691 that a workforce of one Steiger and eight workers resumed the clearing of the buried main tunnel above the Katharina Neufang mine . The main tunnel had already been broken there in 1573.

After the tunnel in the area of ​​the Landeskrone pit had been cleared, work continued in the direction of the Rappoldt discovery pit. A flood in June 1694 temporarily put an end to this work, and the tunnel was silted up again between the mouth hole and the 12th light hole. The clearing work, which began immediately, could not be completed until mid-1695. Then work in the direction of the Rappoldt discovery pit was resumed. In June 1698 the breakthrough took place in the mine building. The clearing work in the mine building of the Rappoldt mine dragged on until 1700, when the Stollnort was reached in June with a workforce of 24 workers. At this point, the tunnel had been stopped almost 140 years earlier.

After the work had been completed , the further tunneling of the tunnel was prepared under pressure from the Oberbergamt in Freiberg , which intervened in the business of the tunnel from 1704 through advice and control. This should serve to raise additional income. After the approval and provision of further subsidies, the work for the further tunneling was tackled and in 1704, after the St. Andreas wing had been cleared, the St. Andreas pit was reached.

When an auxiliary yoke on the 15th light hole was replaced on May 23, 1702, it collapsed. The workers Enoch Voigt and Christian Bergmann were buried in the process. A week later they could only be recovered dead.

The main tunnel, which has been excavated since 1700, made very slow progress due to the solid rock. The breakthrough was only achieved in 1707, after a total length of 210 m, when the Blauderer discovery mine was broken through. After a further 420 m, the Jung Sebastian pit was reached in September 1711 and the Unruhe pit in May 1712 after a further 110 m . The Marx-Semler-Stolln was driven a further 100 m and entered the Schindler mine in May 1713 at a depth of 190 m and thus 56.46 m below the Tiefen Fürstenstolln .

In 1715 there was another accident on the 15th Lichtloch with two deaths. The light hole was then discarded , kept and a new light hole was dug with the light hole 15a. Between 1717 and 1724 one of the wältigte Sperling -Fundgrube on Sittigfundgrube the prince contract -Stollnflügel on a total length of 1,508 m.

From 1713, the Schimmelsberger wing began to be driven from the Rappoldt discovery pit. The goal was the Cobalt Mining Society , Sauschwart and Michael Maaßen . In the same year, the workover of reaching Elisabeth shaft of the mine mountain cap .

With the connection of further mine buildings, more and more sedimented water, but increasingly also the impact water of the artificial tools in the tunnel. The capacity of the tunnel has thus reached its capacity limits. Especially at the St. Georg pit, the miners could only crawl over long distances due to the small cross-section. The necessary profile expansion began here in 1715.

From 1716 the Katharina Neufanger wing was opened in the direction of the Münzzeche and the Klingelsporn mine .

The overhaul and connection of the new pits paid off. The income of the Marx-Semler-Stolln rose from 1200 guilders in 1713 to 2729 guilders in 1717. However, the expenditure was 3800 guilders and thus above the income.

Hut house of the upper district of the Marx-Semler-Stolln at the crossing Filzteichstraße / Schachtstraße in Neustädtel
50 ° 34 '52 "N, 12 ° 37' 46" E

After a break of 150 years, the lining of the tunnel began again. In 1718 the 150 m long rose was put into the masonry and in 1720 24 m of the old masonry was replaced at the first light hole.

The death of the upper climber Christoph Schick on September 23, 1720 and the necessary replacement of the post was taken as an opportunity to divide the Marx-Semler-Stolln, which has now become very extensive, into a lower area, from the mouth hole to the Sperling discovery pit, and to apply for an upper area from the Sperling discovery pit to the site of the tunnel and the tunnel wing. The Oberbergamt approved the division in December 1720.

View of the hut house of the lower district of the Marx-Semler-Stolln at today's Zechenplatz in Bad Schlema. The one-story half-timbered house dates from the 18th century and was first mentioned in an inventory of the gallery in 1780.
50 ° 36 ′ 4 "N, 12 ° 39 ′ 18" E

The hut house of the lower district was built at Lichtloch 16 at today's Zechenplatz 5. At that time, a building from the Rappoldt mine in Neustädtel was used as the hut house of the upper district. Today's hut house at 14 Schachtstrasse was built in 1809.

1720 to 1795

course

The tunnel continued to develop well in the following years, and the number of workers was increased to 50 to 60. After the brickwork was continued and the light hole 9 bricked up in 1721, the focus was again on connecting further pits.

In 1727, the Bergkappe wing was struck from the main tunnel . Here, after 400 m, the Bergkappe treasure trove was reached and the high -maintenance wing could be dropped from the Elisabethschacht . After another 150 m, the Four Evangelists' pit was reached in 1737 . From 1728, the advance of the Schimmelsberger wing, which had been operating with moderate success since 1713, was accelerated. Here they wanted to disinherit the Rosenkranzer Stolln , which drains the profitable cobalt mines in the high mountains, and thus generate additional income. With a counter-site operation from 1737, the breakthrough into the Sonnenwirbel pit and thus the Hohe Gebirge was reached on March 23, 1740 after 920 m .

The development of the tunnel was unaffected by the cobalt mining crisis that began in 1730 due to uneconomical dewatering and extraction in the ever deeper pits. The Seven Years' War also had only a minor impact on the cobalt trade and thus on cobalt mining.

While the expansion by masonry in the tunnel and at the light holes (1734/36 light hole 15, 1738 light holes 13 and 14 and 1741/42 light hole 16) continued, the tunnel was also driven further into the area. From the pit Sonnenwirbel was mold Berger wings further ascended, reaching 1,742 to 225 m the mine company and after another 110 m in 1744, the pit Michaelis Maaßen . Another side wing, which was struck in the front part of the Schimmelsberger wing , reached the Sauschwart pit after 125 m in 1748 .

By connecting these important cobalt mines, the financial situation of the tunnel improved significantly, so that from 1749 he worked in open-air construction. From 1749, the tunnel ridge was raised by one meter at the narrow points and work continued on the tunnel walling in the lower area. In the years 1753 to 1754 the water saige in the tunnel was increased from the mouth hole to the light hole 16. This doubled the possible flow rate in the tunnel.

With the end of the Seven Years' War in 1763, blue color sales and thus cobalt mining took off. At that time silver mining only brought 3 percent of the revenue of the district.

In the course of a revision of the Schneeberger Revier by the mountain ridge Carl Eugenius Pabst von Ohain between 1765 and 1767, in addition to the existing tasks such as the connection of further pits, continuation of the lining and expansion of the tunnel profile, the search for new ore veins was also required for the Marx-Semler-Stolln defined as a new task via further studs. This gave the Marx-Semler-Stolln a new quality. It was no longer used exclusively to dissolve water, but also to explore the area. At the request of the relevant pits in their area, driveways were made through the tunnel, with the tunnel paying 75 percent of the costs. In order to do justice to all these tasks, the team was increased to 136 men by 1769. From 1766, the tunnel was therefore again dependent on subsidies from the electoral tithe fund.

The lining of the tunnel had meanwhile reached considerable proportions. In 1767, after the lining of light hole 2 in the lower district of 4910 m main tunnel length, there were already 711 m in masonry, but 1475 m in timber. In the upper area, 549 m of the 3910 m main tunnel were in masonry and 1338 m in timber. The total length of the tunnel at that time was 13,573 m. The walling in the lower district was in the following period mainly between the 2nd and the 6th light hole and between the 13th and the 16th light hole.

As so often in the past, the Marx-Semler-Stolln was hit by a flood again in July 1771. The tunnel was under water up to the first light hole 16. The thus created backwater left the pits to Rappoldt -Fundgrube completely drown . The higher pits were also severely affected by the high water level. The tunnel suffered damage to the structure and silting up.

The tunnel, which was driven further into the area, reached the Elisabeth mine in 1765 after 200 m from the Gesellschaft mine . From the main tunnel, between the Landeskrone and the Rappoldt mine, the Segen Gottes mine was connected 200 m to the east in 1774 . By driving a crosscross from the Klingelsporn mine, the Eiserner Landgraf mine was reached after 150 m in 1776 . With an extension of the Sauschwarter wing in 1779, after 400 m, it was also possible to penetrate the Junge Kalbe discovery pit.

In 1773 the blue paint works tried to bring cobalt mining and thus also the Marx-Semler-Stolln under their supervision. But after Pope von Ohain revealed the costs of the Marx-Semler-Stolln to them, they abandoned this project.

In 1777 the decision was made to excavate the main adit from the Morgenstern pit to the St. Georg pit and, bypassing the St. Georg pit , lead the adit directly to the Sperling discovery pit. This work was completed in 1789.

The 1753 by paying the fourth penny from the White Hart -Fundgrube from begun in East sky Fahrter Stoll wing in 1786 after 480 m into the Ascension durchschlägig -Fundgrube.

A year later, in 1787, Stollnort, operated by the Schindler mine, reached the Siebenschlehen mine after 650 m . At 364.73  m above sea level NN he brought 59.10 depths under the Name-Jesus-Stolln.

In mid-1788, miner Carl Wilhelm Benno von Heynitz began to draw up a plan for the future expansion of the tunnel. In addition to the detailed representation of the entire Marx-Semler-Stolln, it also contained the documentation of the expansion, the planning of the work to be carried out and the application for the necessary funds from the tax authorities .

In 1790, the elliptical masonry developed by the mountain jury Carl Gottfried Baldauf was used for the first time in Lichtloch 6 . This masonry was more durable and cheaper than the previously implemented types of masonry. The Rappoldter Arch, executed in this elliptical wall, has become famous. Baldauf was responsible for planning the tunnel walling in the following years, and in 1794 the first wall plan for the tunnel was drawn up. Mining Commissioner Julius Wilhelm von Oppel decided in 1794 that the walls should primarily be driven in the lower area. The cost estimate prepared by Carl Gottfried Baldauf for this was 21,203 thalers over a period of five years and for 1129 m of masonry.

1795 to 1861

According to an ordinance of the Oberbergamts dated March 7, 1795, the lower area has now been extended to the Rappoldt mine . As a result, a new plan for the walls to be made was drawn up in 1797. Of the walls planned in 1794, only 422 m had been built by 1797. The new planning provided for all the necessary masonry work in the lower district to be carried out within ten years and at a cost of 31,000 thalers.

A revision in 1805 by chief miner Siegmund August Wolfgang Freiherr von Herder for the lower area showed that of the 13,083 m adit, a total of 2967 m were masonry and 727 m were carpentry. Another 1241 m should be bricked up. In the upper area, a total of 1190 m of the 8727 m adit were in masonry and 2419 m in timber. 2,852 m had to be bricked up. Of the 4156 m of masonry, an additional 3147 m had to be renewed. A total of 486,000 thalers and a period of 75 years were estimated for these expenses . In the foreground were the walls in the section between the mouth hole and the 16th light hole, where the necessary profile expansion was to be carried out at the same time.

At the same time as the lining was made, the tunnel was driven further into the field. In 1799 you reached the Adam Heber area of ​​the Adam Heber mine after 300 m via the tunnel wing of the Jung-Zeche-Spate of the Siebenschlehen discovery pit . At the beginning of 1807, the excavation of the opposite site by Wolfgang Maaßen began in the direction of the priest discovery pit. On July 21, 1809 there was a break in the day below the light hole 13, which was removed within a month.

The Napoleonic occupation of Germany from 1806 and the cobalt mining, which got into a sales crisis from 1812 due to the war, also had an impact on the Marx-Semler-Stolln. The number of workers was reduced to 102 men.

A shortage of cobalt ore appeared for the first time in 1815. In order to solve this problem, the blue color works aimed to take over the Schneeberger cobalt mines. With the purchase of the Kuxe, the takeover of the mines was implemented by 1844. As a result of the takeover, the pits were concentrated. The five-year economic and operational plans introduced by Heynitz in 1794 and by Baldauf and Herder since 1805 enabled constant control of the work carried out and rapid adaptation to changing conditions. The workforce in the gallery rose again to 190 workers.

A revision carried out by Herder in 1816 showed that since 1805 339.5 m in the lower area and 283.5 m in the upper area had been laid in masonry. This meant that the target of around 1600 m of masonry was far behind. At the same time, the tunnel was extended by around 1900 m due to new excavations.

In 1822 a 206 m long break between the 15th light hole and the King David discovery pit was excavated, which shortened the tunnel by 150 m.

In order to implement the plan, which had been in place since 1805 to overcome the König-David -schacht as Communbergwerk, it was necessary to relocate the Marx-Semler-Stolln , which ran over King David's mines . For this reason, the in the meantime tackled overcoming of the main tunnel wing, which was thrown off in 1590, was accelerated via the Ritterzeche from 1830. At the same time, the Greifstollnflügel had to be connected from the Morgenstern shafts to the St. Michaeliser Stollnflügel . The breakthrough took place there on September 15, 1835.

From June 1833 the entire tunnel area from the mouth hole to the second light hole was completely rebuilt. The permeability of the tunnel was increased to 379 m³ of water per minute by expanding the profile. The existing water saige was vaulted and the mouth hole was relocated about 150 m downstream to its current location. This work was finished in 1846.

In 1843 the Stollnort, operated since 1807, on the Roland- Morgengang with location and counter-location in the Friedrich-August- Spat of the Wolfgang Maaße mine n. Previously, after 570 m from the priest discovery pit, the building of the Resurrection of Christ was passed through. The Wolfgang Maaßen day shaft was only reached five years later, in 1848, after 430 m from the Resurrection of Christ discovery pit. A new tunnel wing, which was driven westward from the Elisabeth shaft of the Gesellschaft -fundgrube, reached the art shaft of the Frog Screaming pit in 1846 after 350 m .

From 1841 on, hard-fired bricks were used for the masonry on the instructions of the Freiberg Mining Authority. From 1844 these came from the district brickworks in Schneeberg, which had been rebuilt at the expense of the pits and tunnels. Since the district brickworks could not provide sufficient quantities and the bricks were of poor quality, the brickworks was closed in 1854. From 1855 the required bricks from Zwickau were delivered to Schneeberg via the now newly built railway line. The cost of the masonry could be reduced by 50 percent by using the bricks.

Due to bad harvests in 1846 and 1847 and the revolution of 1848, there were sales difficulties for colored cobalt. The resulting decrease in cobalt production was largely offset by increasing silver production. In 1826 cobalt brought 89 percent of the revenues of the blue paint works, in 1850 it was only 66 percent. During the same period, the revenues from silver recovery rose from 9 percent to 33 percent. The extraction of bismuth did not play a significant role. The total revenues of the blue color works remained almost the same during this period, apart from minor fluctuations.

As part of the takeover of the Schneeberger pits by the blue color works, individual pits were concentrated and closed. The takeover of the Marx-Semler-Stolln was postponed for the time being, probably due to the high cost of the brick lining.

In 1851 the blue color works merged to form the Saxon Private Blue Color Works Association and founded the Schneeberg-Neustädtel mine management consortium.

This also had an impact on the Marx-Semler-Stolln, whose workforce was reduced by 20 workers to around 170 in 1844. These 20 workers were transferred to the consortium mining. The development began to emerge that the Saxon Private Blue Color Works Association wanted to carry out the tasks of revier exploration at the level of the Marx-Semler-Stolln on its own in the future.

The revision carried out in 1844 by the mining captain Friedrich Constantin Freiherr von Beust with the aim of reducing expenditure resulted in a 40 percent reduction in the subsidies for the tunnel. All but six of the studs were then discontinued. By then, the tunnel had reached a total length of 29,400 m. In September 1849 the merger between the Marx-Semler-Stolln and the Fürstenstolln took place. At that time the workforce was 143 men, 121 of them at Marx-Semler-Stolln. Within five years, all of the main adit sections of the Marx-Semler-Adit that were still in timber construction were to be bricked up. However, as the workforce fell from 71 in 1850 to 30 in 1853, this goal could not be achieved until 1857.

In addition to the resurgent demand for cobalt after the end of the economic crisis from 1851, the Schneeberg mining industry also benefited from the increasing importance of bismuth metal. The proceeds from bismuth reached around 10 percent of total sales in 1854 and were thus just as high as the proceeds from silver, which had fallen to 10 percent. Despite the short-term recovery of the cobalt market, the share of cobalt in total revenues was only 77 percent with a falling trend.

In 1861, the Marx-Semler-Stolln, together with the Name-Jesu-Stolln and the Fürstenstolln, which had been added to it, became the joint property of the Royal Saxon State Treasury and the Saxon Private Blue Paint Works Association. This ended the independence of the Marx-Semler-Stolln. At that time, the workforce in the tunnel was only ten.

1861 to 1946

After the takeover by the Royal Saxon State Treasury and the Saxon Private Blue Color Works Association, the field of activity of the Marx-Semler-Stolln was limited to the drainage of the mine water. The workforce was reduced to just two men by 1868, who were responsible for maintaining the tunnel in the Schlema area.

In the course of the further concentration of the Schneeberg mines, the Prince's Treaty discovery mine was connected to the Weißer Hirsch mine in 1862 . The Weishäuptel , Klingelsporn , Ursula , Münzzeche , Katharina and St. Georg mines already belonged to the Weißer Hirsch mine . Also in 1862, the Sauschwart , Junge Kalbe , Neujahr mines were connected to the Grube Gesellschaft , to which the Rosenkranz , Michaelis Maaßen and Elisabeth mines already belonged. This trend continued in 1864, and the last mergers took place in the Schneeberger Revier. At the pit Wolfgang Maassen was priest -Fundgrube with the resurrection of Christ- affiliated -Fundgrube. The St. Andreas , Leviten and Rappoldt mines also belonged to this network . In the same year the pits Siebenschlehen , Adam Heber , Schindler , Sebastian , Unrest and Fröschgeschrei were attached to the Daniel and Anna treasure trove . The process of concentration was complete.

In the mine field, old shafts and mine fields ( Schrotschacht , Eiserner Landgraf , St. Georg , Schafstall , Rappoldt , Rosenkranz ) have now been cleared, new shafts ( Beust , New Year ) sunk and the Marx-Semler-Stolln expanded as a main extraction bed. The height difference between the higher adit and the Marx-Semler-Adit was increasingly used to install modern water lifting machines. In order to be able to provide enough water for the water lifting machines, part of the Zschorlaubach was also diverted over the coachman wing of the Fürstenstolln to the water column artifacts of the Weißer Hirsch mine .

As the Schneeberger pits reached greater depths and the undercutting and overcoming of old, disused mine workings, further areas of the mine field were drained. The resulting water had to be lifted and released. In addition, in 1865, with the breakdown of the operated site and Gegenort Marx Semler-Stoll wing into the mine field of the door shaft of the mountain cap -Fundgrube connected the last great pit of Schneeberger mining area to the Marx-Semler-Stolln. All of these factors meant that the amount of water that had to be drained off via the Marx-Semler-Stolln increased steadily.

In 1871 the mining field of the Marx-Semler-Stolln was abandoned. Also in 1871, the Beustschacht, the first Saigere shaft in the Schneeberger Revier, was put into operation. The Marx-Semler-Stolln brought here at 361.23  m above sea level. NN a depth of 165.44 m.

When the Schneeberger Kobaltfeld trade union was founded in 1880, the Daniel , Gesellschaft , Weißer Hirsch , Wolfgang Maaßen , Bergkappe , Schwalbener Flügel and Marx-Semler-Stolln mines were combined in one company. These pits were in good economic condition at the time. The share of cobalt production in total revenue was only 22 percent in 1881. The proportion of bismuth ores had risen to 63 percent, and silver ores brought in 12 percent of the proceeds. Uranium ores were also repeatedly extracted. These were mainly used for the production of colors for the glass and ceramic industries and for the production of toners for photography. In 1877, for example, uranium ores accounted for 13 percent of sales.

In the course of the expansion of the Marx-Semler-Stollnsohle to the main conveyor bed, tracks were laid to improve horizontal conveyance in 1883. As early as 1863, tracks were laid in the field of the Daniel discovery pit at 608 m between the Krausschacht and the Schindlerschacht . The area between the Priester , Wolfgang Maaßen and Pucherschacht pits was expanded accordingly to 1203 m in 1881.

In 1883 the Marx-Semler-Stolln reached its furthest extent in a southerly direction south of Wolfgang Maaßen at a distance of 580 m with the approach of the Friedefürst-Spate at the granite contact. The Friedefürst treasure trove has now also been drained.

In the area of ​​the Daniel Fundgrube , the Marx-Semler-Stolln came so close to the felt pond in 1889 that the water from the felt pond penetrated the pit via the Eva-Spat . One was forced to seal off the route with a pin in order to prevent further water entry.

As before, the drive of the Marx-Semler-Adit moves almost exclusively on the ore veins. Cross passages such as the one in the Türkschachter field, where the Katharina flat was found in 1891 , remained the exception.

According to a calculation by the mountain director Richard Otto Tröger, the tunnel reached a total length of 42,983 m in 1893.

While the revenues from the pits in the Schneeberger Revier have been fairly constant since 1865, a gradual decline in revenues began from 1895. Despite extensive excavations and investigations as well as the reopening of the now closed area of ​​the Daniel Fundgrube in 1901, the further decline in revenues could not be stopped. While the output between 1881 and 1890 was an average of 863,714.73 RM per year, it fell to an average of 819,971.52 RM per year in the period from 1891 to 1900 and to 623,828.61 RM per year in the period from 1901 to 1910 . As a result, the workforce in the mines was reduced from 661 to 575 and ultimately to 422 in the same period. In 1897 the St. Georg mine field and in 1909 the mining department of Wolfgang Maaßen were closed. Both were considered dismantled.

The Marx-Semler-Stolln experienced a renaissance at this time, especially in the lower section . After a radium bath had been founded in the Bohemian Joachimsthal in 1906 , ambitions in this regard should now also be put into practice in Saxony. In July 1908, the Royal Saxon Ministry of Finance commissioned the Royal Saxon Mining Academy Freiberg to start investigations into the discovery of radioactive water in Saxony. Under the leadership of Professor Carl Anton Wilhelm Schiffner , the Dipl.-Ing. Max Weidig with the corresponding work. The Schneeberg cobalt field, from which 85 percent of the uranium mined over the past 30 years came, was the first target of the investigation. In the spring of 1909, the master builder of the blue color works, Richard Franz Friedrich , was commissioned with the investigations in the lower part of the Marx-Semler-Stolln. He found the highest level of radioactivity in the area between the 13th and 15th light hole. The Saxon Private Blue Color Works Association then mooted the corresponding pit field on May 11, 1909, which was awarded to the association on August 30.

Work in the mine field began immediately with the installation of a 940 m long mine track from the 13th light hole in the direction of the 15th light hole. In 1910 the search for waters containing radon was started through excavations on the Untitled Flat (Radium Flat). From 1911 onwards, the work involved (driving, clearing, sinking of dies, drilling) was financed from the Bergbegnadigungsfonds. By 1913, a total of 206.7 m old side wings had been cleared and 292.2 m new stretches were driven. Through the three boreholes at the radium site in the radium flat and on the Heinrich flat, three sources of radon-containing water with an activity between 5197 Becquerel and 14.500 Becquerel were developed.

In order to attract the public's attention, the Schneeberg-Neustädtel mine management consortium was commissioned by the blue paint works to distribute radium water to interested citizens free of charge. On June 16, 1913, for the first time, radium water was distributed free of charge with an activity of 9400 Becquerel. From July 1913, sick people with a medical certificate could then take advantage of free drinking cures with an activity of 29,700 Becquerel.

In 1914 the investigation work was completed. They had led to the discovery of the previously strongest radon-containing waters in the world in the radium flat with an activity of 32,400 and 54,300 Becquerel. As a result of the discovery, the Radiumbadgesellschaft Oberschlema-Schneeberg was founded on September 23, 1915. This leased the mine field from January 1, 1916 from the Saxon Private Blue Color Works Association until 1991. On August 2, 1916, the construction of a health resort in Schlema began, which was opened on May 16, 1918. In the opening year, 478 spa guests came.

While the exploration work on radium water was successful, the exhaustion of the Schneeberg deposit became evident during the same period. In the period between 1911 and 1920, the annual average sank to 285,897.70 RM, and the workforce in the mines decreased to 211 men.

In order to use the stagnant water in the pit field of the Pucherschacht as impact water, a pinching was introduced in 1912 at a distance of 161 m southeast of the Wolfgang-Maaßen -schacht on the Roland-Morgengang. Together with the pinning in the Fürstenstolln, 940 liters of water per minute flowed via the Inselter wing to the Schindlerschacht , in order to ultimately drive a water column artifact and a water column goblet on the Marx-Semler sole.

To expand the reserve base to BiCoNi ores the set since 1907 pit department was in 1918 Prince contract at the mine Weisser Hirsch put back into operation. The war-related acceleration of mining and the doubling of metal prices since 1915 resulted in an increase in revenues. The peak was reached in 1921 with proceeds of 369,042 RM. Subsequently, however, there was a steep drop in revenues and teams to 8,235 RM with 30 employees in 1930.

After the completion of a 108 m long cross passage between the wings on Bergmannsglück and Morgenstern-Morgengang at the New Year's Shaft in 1923, the pit water from the Gesellschaft-Beustschachter -Felde flowed on the shorter route via Rosenkranz through the Schafstaller -lügel to the main tunnel wing of the Marx -Semler-Stollns. This relieved the narrow Rappoldter wing of the Marx-Semler-Stolln, which was led over long stretches of wooden floodlights .

The sharp drop in metal prices as a result of inflation led to a heavy loss of income at the end of 1924 and thus to a critical economic situation for the Schneeberger Kobaltfeld union. In order to reduce costs, apart from the Weißer Hirsch mine, the underground works under the Marx-Semler-Stolln were abandoned, the rope experience was discontinued and 30 of the 78 employees were laid off. In addition, all fittings and fixtures were discontinued .

In order to keep the mining industry alive and to be able to carry out the necessary investigative work, the Saxon state government provided the Schneeberger Kobaltfeld union with a non-interest-bearing operating advance of 111,430 RM (the original figures were converted to RM as of 1938). With the exhaustion of the loan made available and due to high costs, the ore processing was discontinued in 1930 and the investigative work was discontinued in 1931 without any results.

In the Marx-Semler-Stolln area, around 1000 m of stretches have been covered or re-driven since the beginning of 1911. The extensive investigation and drilling work led to the discovery of the Hindenburg spring in the radium wing on September 24, 1930 , the strongest radium spring in the world with 182,250 Becquerel. The number of spa guests in Schlema had risen to 10,700 in 1931.

The decline of the Schneeberg mining industry continued in 1932. Ore mining had to be stopped because of sales difficulties caused by the persistently low prices of bismuth, cobalt and nickel . After the state government of Saxony had approved further funds for the Schneeberger Kobaltfeld union, research into BiCoNi ores was resumed in 1933. On September 1, 1934, prices on the German metal market were decoupled from the world market. Under the sign of the self-sufficiency efforts of the German Reich , the President of the Reichsbank, Horace Greeley Hjalmar Schacht , granted the Schneeberg mining industry the price protection for bismuth, which provided the majority of the ores. The price difference between the domestic price and the world market price was paid in the form of subsidies. As a result, on July 1, 1935, the mining of bismuth ore began again in the Weißer Hirsch and Gesellschaft mine field . With 63 employees, 508 t of ore were mined this year. The output of BiCoNi ores rose to 7516 t by 1941, and the number of employees doubled to 127. The mining took place in the area of Weißer Hirsch , Fürstenvertrag , Schrotschacht , Neujahrschacht and Sauschwart . As the possibilities of the dump bed at bay White deer were now exhausted, which was from 1943 Beust shaft aufgewältigt again.

In 1943, the number of spa guests in the Schlema Radium Bath reached its peak to date with 17,048 people.

In 1944, the Schneeberger Kobaltfeld union was incorporated into the Schneeberg head office of Sachsenz Bergwerks AG , which was founded in 1937 . The Sachsz Bergwerks AG grouped together all mines that have been producing in Saxony since ore mining was resumed in 1933.

After the end of the Second World War and the occupation of the area by Soviet troops, Soviet geologists began investigating uranium in Oberschlema in June / July 1945 , and from August 1945 these investigations were also extended to Schneeberg.

On the orders of the Soviet city ​​commandant of Schneeberg, Captain Regens, the mining of BiCoNi ores in the Schneeberg district was resumed in September 1945. The work began with a workforce of 93 men in the area of ​​the Weißer Hirsch mine and at the Beutschacht mine .

The 9th Administration of the Ministry of Interior of the USSR formed a Geological Group on September 14, 1945 (Геологопоисковая Партия). This was supposed to look for uranium deposits in the Saxon Ore Mountains over a period of two months and was conducted. The work was then continued by the Saxon Ore Search Group (Саксонская Рудно-Поисковая Партия). On April 4, 1946, the Saxon ore search group was transformed into the Saxon mining and exploration group (Саксонская Промышленно-Разведочная Партия).

At that time, the Weißer Hirsch , Neujahr and Beust pits in Schneeberg were in operation and the shot shaft was eligible for funding. In Oberschlema access to the Marx-Semler-Stolln was guaranteed via light hole 15, and in Niederschlema light holes 1, 2, 6, 9 and 13 were passable. In the spring of 1946, the first research work began on the Marx-Semler-Sole to find uranium ore in Oberschlema. The mining of BiCoNi ores in the Schneeberger ore field, which began in September 1945, was continued. The last 123 tons of BiCoNi ore were mined in October 1946 and mining for these ores stopped. The health resort in Schlema was closed for civilians due to a Soviet order on November 15, 1946, as the area of ​​the radium bath was meanwhile in the restricted area of ​​mining.

1946 to 1991

By resolution of the Council of Ministers of the USSR on July 29, 1946 in Moscow , the Saxon Mining Administration (Саксонское Горное Управление), the forerunner of the later General Directorate of Wismut AG , of which the first General Director was the Soviet Major General Mikhail Mitrofanovich , under the post number 27304 Malzew was appointed Red Army formed from the Saxon Extraction and Exploration Group.

The now beginning mining on uranium ore exceeded everything previously known in its dimensions and effects. The importance of the Marx-Semler-Stolln also reached a completely new dimension. In addition to draining water, the process water required for mining was also taken from the tunnel, and it was used for weather management in the early days. Power cables and pipes for the water and compressed air supply were laid in the tunnel itself.

All depth information in the areas of Schneeberg, Schlema and Hartenstein was based on the level of the Marx-Semler-Stolln in + m or −m. The 330  m above sea level The measuring point established for this purpose lies between the light holes 12a and 14a under the Oberschlema train station. In the area of ​​the Oberschlema and Niederschlema districts, the Marx-Semler-Stolln with the light holes 1, 2, 6, 9, 13 and 15 represented the only access to the deposit. Its total extent was around 46 km until 1946.

The Oberschlema, Niederschlema and Schneeberg districts were listed under the name Object 02 from October 1946 . In the autumn of 1946, the digging of shafts 5, 6, 7 and 14 in the Oberschlema district began. Uranium mining began in shaft 4 (Gallusstolln) in autumn. The usual numbering of the shafts for the bismuth was done chronologically and independently of the respective object or a special area.

In December 1946, the Ritterschacht (shaft 9), the first mining shaft in Schneeberg, went into operation. As early as January 1947, the White Deer followed as shaft 3. The workforce of property 02 already consisted of 3,683 people at this time. The Schneeberg deposit was well developed and was originally considered to be mined. The mining of uranium ore, which began in 1946, was therefore initially limited to areas above the Fürstenstolln level.

With the order No. 131 of the SMA Sachsen of May 30th, 1947 - along with other mining companies - the mining companies Schneeberg and Oberschlema were transferred to the property of the Soviet Union. They formed the core of Wismut AG, founded in Moscow on June 6, 1947, which from then on took over the business of the Saxon Mining Administration.

In 1947, the Siebenschlehen (shaft 10), New Year (shaft 11) and Beustschacht (shaft 24) shafts went into operation in the Schneeberger Revier . This year the Wolfgang Maaßen shaft was also cleared. The mining has meanwhile expanded over the entire accessible area to the area between the Marx-Semler-Stollnsohle and the earth's surface. On April 1, 1947, the Schneeberg district became independent and spun off as Object 03 from Object 02.

Shafts 5, 6 and 7 also went into operation in Oberschlema in 1947, from which the −30 m level was the first level under the Marx-Semler-Stolln. In addition to this level, mining also began on the Marx-Semler level and the +60 m level. The now increasing ore mining between the Marx-Semler-Sole and the surface of the earth led to the first signs of subsidence on the earth's surface and also to the Schlemabach creek breaking into the mine workings, which led to the temporary cessation of work. Around 90 percent of the ore reserves were located in this area, under the Schlema location, and some of the tunnels were only one to four meters apart.

In Niederschlema, the depths of shafts 13 ^to and 38 began, and the light hole 13 (shaft 13) began production. By April 1, 1948, the length of the Marx-Semler-Stolln in the Schlema area grew from 3 km in 1946 to around 30 km.

In 1948, work on exploration, installation and dismantling was stepped up. In the Oberschlema the newly sunk shafts 6 ^bis , 8, 12, 14, 15 ^bis , 27, 67 and 127 went into operation. The mining now extended to the +90 m level and the −60 m level. About 3.8 km of alignment structures were excavated on the Marx-Semler-Sole. Since the Marx-Semler-Stolln was partially destroyed by the mining, the pit water coming from the Schneeberger Revier, about 550 m³ / h, fell into the deeper structures and had to be raised to the level of the gallery again by pumps. For this reason, a dam gate was built into the tunnel between the 15th and 16th light holes. The water accumulating behind it was diverted into the Schlemabach via a pump system on the Marx-Semler-Stollnsohle or pumped into elevated tanks on the Gleesberg for the service water supply.

In Schneeberg, the newly sunk shafts Ritterschacht II (shaft 25; as reinforcement to shaft 9), Waldschacht (shaft 26; near the felt pond), Kinder Israel (shaft 50; in the area of ​​the old treasure trove children Israel ), Bergkappe (shaft 75; in the area of ​​the old mountain cap treasure trove ), frogs cry (shaft 130; in the area of ​​the old treasure trove frogs cry ), the blind shaft  24 ^bis (between the Marx-Semler level and the −60 m level), the blind shaft 25 ^bis (between the Fürstenstolln and the Marx-Semler-Stolln) and the reconstructed old shafts Daniel (shaft 36), Peter and Paul (shaft 37), Adam Heber (shaft 43), Schrotschacht (shaft 47), Schindlerschacht (shaft 72), Türkschacht ( Shaft 83), Gesellschaft (Shaft 200), Rappoldt (Shaft 201) and the Fürstenvertrager Kunstschacht (Shaft 90; as a blind shaft between the Marx-Semler-Sole and the 90- Lachter -Sole ) start mining. In addition, the Iron Landgrave mine was also cleared.

In Niederschlema, shafts 66 and 186 were sunk, and shafts 13 ^to and 38 went into operation. In the autumn of 1948, Niederschlema was separated from Object 02 as Object 09 and thus independent. At the end of 1948 there were around 9,000 employees in property 02, around 7,000 in property 03 and around 3,500 in property 09.

In 1949, the depths of shafts 207, 208, 246, 250 and 276 began in property 09. Shafts 66, 186, 237 (light hole 9) and 246 went into operation. Shaft 186 was the only shaft on the right-hand side of the trough from which the Marx-Semler bottom was driven. The first 12.5 tons of uranium were mined.

In the same year, shafts 5 ^bis , 14 ^bis , 63, 64, 65 and the excavated shaft Grüner Schild (shaft 63 ^bis ) went into operation in property 02 . At the level of the Marx-Semler-Stolln, around 14.6 km of alignment structures were driven in object 02. In December 24,603 people were employed in this property. As a result of the mining, which penetrated further into the depths due to the outcrop of the levels −90 and −120, the subsidence in the Schlema area also increased. In 1949 the subsidence in the area of ​​the track was already 50 cm, and the damage to the buildings increased massively. The dismantling, some of which was only a few meters below the buildings, was then temporarily suspended.

Due to the huge demand for process water in the mining industry, the drinking water supply for the population and miners in the Schneeberg / Schlema area became increasingly problematic. That is why the construction of a waterworks on the Gleesberg began in February, in which the water from the Marx-Semler-Stolln should be treated. As early as August 1949, the waterworks was ready for operation.

In the Schneeberg mining area the newly sunk shafts Magnetschacht (shaft 73; southwest of Zschorlau), Hermannschacht (shaft 74; also southwest of Zschorlau ), shaft 76 (in the area of ​​the Schrotschacht ), Friedefürst (shaft 77; in the area of ​​the old treasure trove Friedefürst ) and shaft 150 (in the Beustschacht area ), the blind shaft 266 (from the frog-screaming Stolln to the Marx-Semler-sole) and the blind shaft 268 (from the Marx-Semler-sole to the −30-m-sole) . The old Pucherschacht (shaft 260) was also reconstructed and put into operation and the day shaft of the St. Andreas mine was cleared.

At the end of 1949, the peak of uranium ore production in Object 03 was exceeded, and shafts 36 ( Daniel ) and 201 ( Rappoldt ) went out of service. The dismantling shifted to the Marx-Semler and the −30 m level. Of the total of 29 shafts and blind shafts in Object 03, 23 had a connection to the Marx-Semler-Stolln.

In 1950 shafts 26, 37, 47, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77 and 260 were dropped in the Schneeberg district. The deposit was again considered to be mined and object 03 was subordinated to object 09 in September. In the Oberschlema district, shafts 6 ^c , 7 ^bis , 256, and 280 went into operation, and mining was extended to levels −150 and −180. The shafts 63 and 63 ^bis have been dropped. The mining on the upper levels has been reduced. A further 3.5 km alignment structures were driven on the Marx-Semler-Stollnsohle. The real estate owned by Radiumbad Oberschlema GmbH was also destroyed by the mining industry, and it had to go into liquidation on December 2, 1950 .

In Niederschlema, when shafts 207, 208, 250 and 296 were put into operation, mining began at the −90 m level.

In 1951, mining in Niederschlema also extended to levels −120 and −150. In the Oberschlema, mining has now reached levels −210 and −240. Shafts 259 and 312 went into operation, and at the level of the Marx-Semler-Stolln the last alignment structures with a length of about 1.5 km were driven. The subsidence in the Schlema area has now assumed threatening proportions. Main streets at risk of collapse were secured with planks. The Schlemabach and the Silberbach were partly led over the quarries in wood. Many houses were in danger of collapsing and had to be evacuated. The official evacuation of Oberschlema began on November 22, 1951, during which a total of 203 houses had been cleared by April 1952 and 1,711 people were relocated.

In the Schneeberg district, shafts 11 and 150 went out of service. The mining shifted there under the Marx-Semler-Stolln.

In 1952, mining in the Schneeberger Revier entered its final phase for the time being. Shafts 9, 24, 24 ^bis , 25, 25 ^bis and 90 have been dropped. In the Beustschacht area (shaft 24) there was a spinning on the 90-Lachter level, behind which the water in the Gesellschaft area was dammed up to the level of the Marx-Semler-Adit. Since the pumps at the Beustschacht were not designed for this volume of water, the water was allowed to run over the 110-Lachter section to the Weißer Hirsch shaft , where it was lifted with pumps onto the Marx-Semler-Stollnsohle. As this measure flooded the 110-Lachter route for about half a meter, this work could only be carried out on the weekends. Until the mining on the Beustschacht ceased, it was not possible to completely drain the water and to open the spinning.

In 1952, shaft 309 in Oberschlema went into operation as a reinforcement for shaft 12, which took several tons. The mining in this area reached levels −270, −300 and −330. The workforce fell to 16,070. In order to avoid further incursions of the Schlemabach into the mine building, construction work began to relocate the course of the brook on a stretch of 3 km between the "Brückenhof" (today Kobaltstrasse 27) in Schneeberg and the light hole 13 in Niederschlema. In April 1952, with the demolition of the evacuated houses in Oberschlema, the last obstacles were removed in order to resume the dismantling in the area of ​​the town center, which had ceased in 1949, and to carry out relentless mining. After the rails of the railway line had sunk by a total of one meter, passenger traffic was stopped on April 7, 1952, and from August 1, 1952, all rail operations between Niederschlema and Schneeberg were stopped by the Reichsbahn . In the Niederschlema district, the blind shaft 208 ^bis was also put into operation for further exploration of the deposit below the −240 m level after the blind shafts 38 ^bis , 38 ^c and 207 ^bis . Mining there has now reached the −180 m level.

On November 28, 1953, by resolution of the shareholders in Moscow, Wismut AG was liquidated and SDAG Wismut was founded on December 21, 1953 at a shareholders' meeting in Karl-Marx-Stadt . It took over all assets of Wismut AG, but without becoming its legal successor.

In 1953, mining in the Niederschlema district continued deeper. The levels −270 and −300 were brought into dismantling. In Oberschlema, the relocation of the Schlemabach has been completed. Shaft 311 in Silberbachtal went into operation, and mining was extended to levels −360 and −390. Shafts 12 and 256 were discarded. With a production of 969.9 t uranium, the Oberschlema district achieved the top position within the SDAG Wismut in 1953. Of the area's 28 day shafts, 24 shafts had a connection to the Marx-Semler-Stolln. In Schneeberg, the shaft of the Resurrection of Christ treasure trove was opened up to explore the edge areas of the deposit . At the same time, shaft 43 was dropped. Mining moved in shafts 3 and 50 up to the 155-Lachter level, in shafts 10 and 72 up to the 48-Lachter level and in shafts 83 and 130 up to the −120 m level.

In 1954, the mining of shafts 10 and 72 in the Schneeberg district was stopped. The flood of July 10th, during which the structures under the 110-Lachter-sole flooded, also led to the cessation of the operation of shafts 3 and 50. In the Oberschlema district, the peak of production was reached with 978.6 t uranium. The levels −420 and −450 were transferred to mining. However, mining on the +60 m level was discontinued. In the Niederschlema district, the levels −210, −240, −330 and −540 were being mined. The mining moved - following the ore veins - from Niederschlema to the northeast into the depths. The number of employees in Niederschlema rose to 12,917.

In 1955, the levels −360, −390, −420 and −480 in the Niederschlema district were brought into mining. Most of the town in Oberschlema had since been demolished, and mining had reached the −480 m level. The shafts 130 and 200 in Schneeberg were dropped. In May, the mining of 161.94 t of BiCoNi ores began in the pit fields of shafts 72 and 83.

In 1956, when the dismantling work in shaft 83 was stopped, SDAG Wismut's mining in the Schneeberg district ended. Shafts 3, 24, 72 and 83 were handed over to VEB Wolfram-Zinnerz Pechtelsgrün on August 1, 1956 by the Ministry of Heavy Industry of the GDR as the Schneeberg operating department for further mining of non-ferrous metal ores. In the Oberschlema district, however, mining reached the −510 m level. The mining on the levels −180 and −210 has been stopped. The non-mineralized underlying granite was reached over long distances . Shafts 8, 15 ^to and 16 were dropped. Shafts 186 ^a and 366 ( Alberoda ) were put into operation in the Niederschlema district . The level of −450 was put into mining. On the Marx-Semler-Sole as well as on the levels −30 and −60 the mining was stopped.

In 1957, Shaft 365 ( Lößnitz ) was put into operation in Niederschlema . In addition to uranium ore, the extraction of BiCoNi ores has now also started here. Mining entered its final phase in Oberschlema. The town center was now completely demolished. The level −540 went into operation, while on the levels +30 to −150 and −240 to −420 only the extraction of the remaining deposits was carried out. These soles were discontinued at the end of the year. In the Schneeberg mining area, after a detailed examination of the remaining ore reserves (around 3,000 to 4,000 tons of BiCoNi ores), which were mainly located in the Turkschacht mine field , mining operations were discontinued by a Council of Ministers resolution of March 1957. The reason given was the lack of profitability due to the insignificance of the ores still in the pipeline. Funding did not take place between August 1956 (transfer to VEB Wolfram-Zinnerz Pechtelsgrün ) and the discontinuation in March 1957. Mining in the Schneeberger Revier temporarily ended. From 1946 to 1956, 1,010,000 m² of corridor area was mined and 209.7 t of uranium were extracted. This corresponds to 0.21 kg / m² aisle area. The Marx-Semler-Stollnsohle was enlarged by about 18 km of driveways.

In 1958, the mining in property 02 Oberschlema came to an end. The shafts ^6c and 65 were dropped. On April 1st, object 02 was closed and the remaining shafts of the object were taken over from object 09 (precipitation). Before mining was stopped in 1960, the floor level −585 and in 1959 the −630 were handed over to mining. During this time, a total of 7,805 t of uranium was mined on 10,189,241 m² of corridor area. This corresponds to 0.76 kg / m² aisle area. The Marx-Semler-Stollnsohle had an extension of 6.3 km² in object 02 with about 160 km of horizontal drives. A total of km of fittings and fixtures were built in property 02 2017. The Marx-Semler-Stolln between the light holes 14 and 15 was completely destroyed. The mining left a subsidence area of ​​23.4 ha with a maximum subsidence of 6 m in its center. In Niederschlema, the −585 m level was transferred to mining. Dismantling on levels −90 and −120 has been discontinued. In shaft 38, a pumping station was built on the −540 m level to lift the water from the Oberschlema district and discharge it directly into the Schlemabach.

In order to cope with the recurring peaks in consumption in the drinking water supply of the population, another waterworks was built on the Beustschacht between 1973 and 1975. In this waterworks too, water from the Marx-Semler-Stolln was treated.

Until the cessation of mining on 1 April 1991 were in the mining operation Aue (in these the object 09 in 1968 was renamed) nor the shafts 371 , 372, 373 (1959), 382 and 383 (1964) in the field Alberoda-Hartenstein- torrent in Business. After the −585 m level, a further 27 conveyor levels were driven. The deepest extraction level, the −1800 m level ( 1470  m below sea level ), was reached in 1986. Shaft 38, the last shaft on Schlemaer Flur, was closed in 1973. The scheduled extraction of uranium ores was discontinued on December 31, 1990; By March 1, 1991, the remaining areas were still being removed.

On May 16, 1991, the State Treaty between the Federal Republic of Germany and the USSR transformed the stock corporation into Wismut GmbH, and the previously Soviet part of SDAG Wismut was transferred to the Federal Republic of Germany. On January 1, 1992, Wismut GmbH was converted into a renovation company.

In the course of the 43-year operation of the Aue mining company (object 09), 4168.9 km of fittings and fixtures were excavated. In the area of ​​the Marx-Semler-Sole, the driveway length is 12.147 km. A total of 73,125 t of uranium were mined from an area of ​​29,222,000 m² mined. This corresponds to 2.5 kg / m² aisle area. The highest extraction was achieved in 1963 with 4553 t of uranium. In the period from 1957 to 1978, an additional 198.8 t cobalt, 272.9 t nickel, 100.7 t bismuth and 6.2955 t silver were mined. After 550 years of mining (the first silver was mined in the Silberwaage mine in Niederschlema as early as 1440), around 121.698 t of silver and around 2068 t of uranium remain in the deposit.

On July 2, 1990, the scheduled flooding of the −1800 m level began.

1991

^Headframe of shaft 15 ^{II to}
50 ° 36 ′ 5 ″ N, 12 ° 39 ′ 25 ″ O

Marx-Semler-Stolln, light hole 12a in Niederschlema

In the course of the renovation, which started out of production, it was quickly recognized that the Marx-Semler-Stolln would play a key role in this. Due to the suction ventilation of the pits of object 09, the negative pressure created in the Marx-Semler-Stolln resulted in lower radon values ​​in Schlema. In order to guarantee this also in the future and to enable the regulated drainage of the rising pit water, a rehabilitation of the Marx-Semler-Stolln was inevitable. As early as 1946 there was - except in 1980 as a replacement to the verbrochenen shaft 15 ^to geteuften shaft 15 ^IIbis in Oberschlema and light holes 2 and 9 in Niederschlema - no mobile access to Stolln. After a first inspection in autumn 1989, the reconstruction of the Marx-Semler-Stolln between the mouth hole and the second light hole began in spring. The renovation of the section between the 2nd and 9th light holes was then continued and both light holes were expanded. In the bottom of the tunnel, rails ( track width 300 mm) were laid for conveyance . In order to ensure that the waterway was again accessible, the tunnel also had to be restored in the deformation area. In the course of the ongoing renovation, existing old overhangs of the bismuth were removed as light holes 12a and 14a in the area of ​​the light holes 12 and 14 . At a distance of 2500 m from the mouth hole, the clearing work reached the area of ​​shaft 6 ^c at the end of 1995 .

Starting from the light holes 2 and 9, newly ^{sunk exploratory sinks} , the shaft 15 ^IIbis and the shaft 12, which was cleared again in 1992, a large-scale renovation of the Marx-Semler- ^{Stolln bottom} began. In addition to dealing with broken stretches, new stretches were also driven in order to be able to keep 14 shafts on the Marx-Semler-Stollnsohle with concrete seals in addition to various security work.

As early as 1991, the mayor of Schlema at the time, Konrad Barth, came up with the idea to bring the lost health resort Schlema back to life in the form of a radium bath. In view of the legacy of the SDAG Wismut in the Schlema valley, this request was a utopia for many. It was only with the beginning of the renovation of the Marx-Semler-Stolln and the resulting stability of the mountains that it became possible to put this vision into practice. On April 24, 1990, the "Association for the Reopening of a Spa and Spa" was founded in Schlema. The discovery of radon-containing waters by Wismut GmbH and the success of double-blind studies on the healing effects of these waters (carried out by Munich Professor Helmut G. Pratzel in the former Wismut Polyclinic in Schlema) led to the establishment of the "Kur- und Heilbad GmbH" on November 6, 1992 ". For legal reasons, the name was changed to "Kurgesellschaft mbH" in May 1993. On September 20, 1996, the foundation stone for the new spa center was laid on the site of the old spa that was demolished in 1952. The inauguration took place two years later on October 25, 1998.

The Beustschacht waterworks went out of service in 1992 and the Gleesberg waterworks in 1996. Both waterworks took the raw water from the 10 million m³ water reservoir, which was dammed behind the Dammtor up to the level of the Fürstenstollen. In 1985, the Beustschacht waterworks processed 2750 m³ of water daily, the Gleesberg waterworks 8400 m³ of water. The additional water volumes were ^raised to the level of the Marx-Semler-Stolln via the pumping station at shaft 15 ^IIbis and from there discharged into the Schlemabach. This gave the creation of the natural water drainage of the Marx-Semler-Stolln a new priority.

Since the mine water emerging from the Schlema Alberoda deposit is highly contaminated with uranium, radium, arsenic , iron and manganese, it is necessary to treat it in a special water treatment plant. The first expansion stage of the plant went into operation on January 1st, 1998 with a maximum output of 700 m³ / h. The outlet of the plant is located on the right bank of the Mulden between the Niederschlema train station and the 371 shaft at 322.9  m above sea level. NN . On February 20, 2001 an extension of the plant was put into operation and the output increased to 1000 m³ / h. Probably for the next 25 to 30 years around 7 million m³ / a of polluted mine water will have to be cleaned with this system.

On July 3, 1999, shaft 15 ^{IIbis was opened} as a visitor ^mine . Visitors can drive through mine workings on the Marx-Semler-Stollnsohle up to light hole 14a. The light hole 14a had received a new chew in 1997 - just like the light holes 9 and 12a in 1994/95. On October 23, 2004, Schlema was officially recognized as a radon bath, and on January 18, 2005, the Saxon state government awarded the health resort Schlema the rating of a bath.

In order not to pollute the water treatment plant with additional water, work was continued on making the Marx-Semler-Stolln waterway accessible. For fear of a renewed subsidence movement due to the flooding of the area, the tunnel between the light holes 14 and 15 was equipped with a large-volume pit water pipe to pass on the pit water. Since about 1.5 million m³ of mine space cannot be flooded, there is a risk of high levels of radon not only underground, but also in the surface area of ​​Schlema and Schneeberg. In order to reduce the possible exposure to the radioactive noble gas in the long term, the Marx-Semler-Stollnsohle is ventilated via the extending weather shaft 382.

Since the long-term stability of the Marx-Semler-Stolln between the light holes 14 and 15 cannot be guaranteed, but the water drainage must also be maintained in the future, Wismut GmbH decided, in cooperation with the Oberbergamt in Freiberg, to excavate a tunnel. Starting at light hole 14, this is to bypass the deformation area in a southerly direction and in the area of ​​the König-David-Schacht it is to be integrated into the existing bypass from 1822.

On April 7, 2011, the Free Press announced that the Schlema municipal council had decided to put the Marx-Semler-Stolln on the list of objects for the Unesco World Heritage project “ Ore Mountains Mining Region ”.

In a press release on July 28, 2011, Wismut GmbH informed about the start of construction of the tunnel pavement. The work should be completed in 2013.

In 2012, the work in the southern section was specified. The rear crack of the cross passage is therefore 76 m, and the length of the new driveway will be 1079 m. By mid-March 2012, the 76 m post-clearance and around 270 m new excavation had been mastered.

At the end of July 2013, with a driveway length of 556 m, the Red Ridge, 36 m thick at this point and falling at 55 to 60 ° to NE, was reached. Up to 585 m it presented itself as a system of quartz veins with embedded slate fragments. By 592 the slate was replaced by embedded granite. After the Red Ridge has been cut through, the further advance in the Gleesberg granite will be continued.

On December 8, 2014, after driving 1155 m, it broke through into the Marx-Semler-Stolln. In order to ensure long-term safe navigability and ventilation of the southern break and at the same time to create an escape route, the light hole 16a is sunk at the breakthrough point.

literature

• Albert Schiffner: Handbook of geography, statistics and topography of the Kingdom of Saxony . Leipzig 1839.
• Siegfried Woidtke: The mountain is free . Illustrated book about the Schneeberg-Neustädtler mining industry. tape II . Self-published, Aue 2002, ISBN 3-00-013108-6 .
• Bernd Lahl : The Markus-Semmler-Stolln and the Schneeberg-Schlemaer Bergbau . 2003th edition. Druck- und Verlagsgesellschaft Marienberg, Marienberg, ISBN 3-931770-50-8 .
• Calendar for the Saxon mountain and hut man. 1827 to 1851. Royal Mining Academy in Freiberg
• Yearbook for the mountain and hut man. 1852 to 1872. Freiberg Royal Mining Academy
• Yearbook for mining and metallurgy in the Kingdom of Saxony. 1873 to 1917.
• Yearbook for mining and metallurgy in Saxony. 1918 to 1934.
• Yearbook for mining and metallurgy in Saxony. 1935 to 1938.
• Mining Association Schneeberg e. V. (Ed.): 5th conference proceedings . Schneeberg July 2007.
• Emser notebooks . 4th year, no. 1 (January-March). Rainer Bode, 1982.
• Mining Association Schneeberg e. V. (Ed.): 500 years of Marx-Semler-Stolln . Schneeberg January 2003 (conference proceedings).
• Management of Wismut GmbH (Ed.): The Marx-Semmler-Stolln . Schlema July 1996.
• Mining tradition association Uranbergbau e. V. (Ed.): 7th Schlema Mining Days . Schlema July 2003 (conference proceedings).
• Oliver Titzmann: Radium bath Oberschlema . Self-published, Schlema 1995.
• Oliver Titzmann: Uranium mining versus radium bath . Self-published, Schlema 2003.
• Dipl.-Geol. Axel Hiller, Dipl.-Geol. Werner Schuppan: Mining Monograph Volume 14 . Geology and uranium mining in the Schlema-Alberoda district. LfUG, Freiberg 2008, ISBN 3-9811421-3-6 .
• Wismut GmbH's trade journal: Dialog . Self-published, Chemnitz (1993–2012).
• Werner Runge et al: Chronicle of the bismuth . Ed .: Wismut GmbH. Self-published, Chemnitz 1999 (CD).
• Theodor Gustav Werner: The great merger of the mines around the Rappolt in Schneeberg under the leadership of the Nuremberg from 1514 . Announcements from the Association for the History of the City of Nuremberg, Digital Library - Munich Digitization Center (MDZ) - (1969 to 1971).

Web links

Commons : Marx-Semler-Stolln  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• History of the Markus-Semmler-Stolln. Retrieved April 11, 2014 . 

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Thuringian State Archives Meiningen.
2. ↑ Adoration - 869-870. Retrieved June 24, 2014 . 
3. ↑ Köhler, Alexander Wilhelm: Instructions on the rights and the constitution in mining in the Kingdom of Saxony, 2nd, very probably u. partly completely redesigned. Aufl., Freyberg 1824. Page: 253. Accessed June 24, 2014 . 
4. ↑ Purchasing power as a measure of the value of money. Retrieved March 25, 2018 . 
5. ↑ Graphic representation of concrete seals on the website of the Uranbergbau Museum, Bad Schlema, on uranerzbergbau.de.
6. ↑ Effectiveness and tolerance of radon baths in patients with painful complaints due to degenerative diseases of the spine or joints. (PDF) (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on June 22, 2015 ; Retrieved June 24, 2014 . 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.  
7. ^ Wismut GmbH (ed.): Dialog . No. 73 , April 2012 (company magazine).
8. ^ Wismut GmbH (ed.): Dialog . No. 79 , October 2013 (company magazine).
9. ^ Wismut GmbH (ed.): Dialog . No. 85 , April 2015 (company magazine).

Coordinates: 50 ° 37 ′ 10 ″  N , 12 ° 40 ′ 51 ″  E