Emery mining in Waldthurn

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Schmirgelabbau in Waldthurn took place between the late 18th century until the 1970s at several locations of the municipality Waldthurn instead. The prerequisite for this are the granulites , amphibolites and eclogites formed in the Bohemian mass . The products obtained from this were marketed under the name Oberpfälzer Schmirgel and used as polishing agents in the numerous local glassworks .

Andreas tunnel near Woppenrieth

The tunnel was located 800 meters east of Woppenrieth near the Rehbühlwiesen. In 1958, when the terrain collapsed, a tunnel entrance became visible and tracks from a former taxiway were also found. The tunnel was 262.5 m long .

The peak of the emery extraction was between 1794 and 1819. The extraction of the metabasite found there was so financially successful that a habitable colliery could be built and a miner could be employed. With the death of the mine master Johann Keck , the mining industry went downhill, his successors neglected the maintenance of the tunnel and sold from the emery store. 1838 Michael Beer is named as the fiefdom holder for the mining industry (fief deed of March 29, 1839 issued by the Royal Bavarian Hüttenamt Königshütte ) . He wanted to make the tunnel passable again by 1844 and build a hut at the upper mouth of the tunnel to protect workers and any hikers. This failed due to the resistance of the landlord, his application to the district fund for the trade union was also rejected and so the entrepreneur was left with his expense of 404 fl. In 1883/84 Josef Beimler (Woppenrieth) and Alois Trier ( Lennesrieth ) made another attempt to reopen the tunnel. On January 30, 1884, they indicated that the gallery was reopening. To do this, the accumulated water had to be drained and the tunnel cleared. This also failed due to the objection of a landowner who did not want to tolerate a water drainage canal on his property, and so the once traditional mining in Woppenrieth ended here.

Emery at Ottenrieth

In 1796, the princely chief magistrate from Dürbeck reported on emery finds near the village of Ottenrieth. Back then, poor people and grinders had already driven away emery stones in wheelbarrows. Now two workers have been assigned to prospect by the Oberamtmann. On March 28, 1796, the woodruff seaman reported on the finds and asked Prince Lobkowitz to come and see it. According to a positive report from the chief bailiff , the Roggenstein foreman Wolfgang Steiniger took a sample of Ottenriether's emery on July 16, 1796 and found it useful for all types of grinding . He suggested 5 fl . After that, however, concerns arose about possible territorial disputes and this find was not pursued further.

Maximilianszeche in Albersrieth

This mining area with 2.3 hectares was located southwest of Albersrieth, since 1815 some farmers have been mining the emery there. The operators were initially the "five emery farmers" with 128 Kuxen old law. The fief was awarded by the Royal Bavarian Hüttenamt Königshütte for the first time on March 28, 1839, September 6, 1848 and February 6, 1849. The mining trade union Maximilianszeche Weig & Co Albersrieth carried out the dismantling . A high-quality garnet amphibolite was funded (share of garnets 49.2%). Until 1905, mining was carried out by tunneling and then by opencast mining . The delivery rate was 11,421 quintals in 1928, but fell to 4,431 quintals by 1931. During the Second World War , considerable quantities were sold to other European countries (1942: Finland 40 tons , Denmark 20 tons, Spain 20 tons, Portugal 15 tons, Riga 19 tons, Holland 15 tons, Romania 5 tons, a total of 154 tons). In 1944 it was determined that the material obtained was essential to the war effort and that continuation therefore had to be ensured. In this context, an application was made for a price increase for raw emery stone. After the war, mining was shut down; at this time was sold from stock. From October 1950 the opencast mining was resumed, but only with one worker who removed 1.25 tons of overburden per day. On October 2nd, 1958, it was reported that no major changes had occurred, but that there was a larger order of 2000 tons from Spain. The delivery rate rose to 498 tons in 1961, but only 16 tons were reduced in 1968.

In the post-war period, the number of glass grinding operations decreased rapidly due to competition from flat glass production and the demand for emery due to the use of synthetic abrasives. The colliery was therefore shut down on March 30, 1971.

Wilhelmszeche in Zeßmannsrieth

The earliest mention of this colliery was in 1883. The mine field was 0.9 hectares in size, the colliery was operated in tunnel construction . The owner was Fritz Ertl (Albersrieth House No. 13, † December 25, 1891). After the family withdrew from the business in 1908, it was run together with the Maximilianszeche (see above).

literature

  • Franz Bergler: Waldthurn: rule, market and parish; in the service of the homeland. Spintler, Weiden 2014, pp. 229–236.
  • Franz Bergler: House book of the market town of Waldthurn. Marktgemeinde publishing house, Waldthurn 2003.
  • Waldthurn community: 775 years of Waldthurn: Heimatfest; August 7-17, 1992. Spintler, Weiden 1992, pp. 136-140.