Altenau silver works

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The Altenau silver smelter was a smelting company for iron ore in Altenau , Goslar district .

history

The first metallurgical plant is mentioned as early as the 13th century on Lilierwasser in today's Tischlertal, which processed ores from the Goslar mine Rammelsberg . The hut was first mentioned in 1295 when the knight Volkmar de Goslaria sold the hut to the Sankt-Johannes-Kirche in Goslar. In 1298 the church sold it to Burchard von Wildenstein. In 1311 the hut de Altena was owned by Albrecht Colven.

In 1540 mining companies were undertaken in Altenau. However, this failed, so that the hut on the Lilierwasser lost its importance. A second hut was located on the Großer Gerlachsbach in Rotenberger Straße, where there was a first settlement. This hut was therefore called hut at the Abgunst and processed iron from the Polstertal mines . In 1609 a new silver smelter was built at the crossroads from Altenau to Clausthal-Zellerfeld, after a large number of pits had been put into operation from 1580, which allowed their metals to melt there.

The silver smelter processed 36,000 to 40,000 quintals of material into 9,000 marks of silver and 20,000 quintals of lead annually.

The custody of the mines and the smelting facility would have been given to the Clausthal Mining Authority. However, due to the distance to Clausthal, supervision was not possible. The chief administrator Christoff Sander, who had been appointed by Duke Heinrich the Younger and Duke Julius , transferred responsibility for the Altenau facilities to Pancratius Müller from Astfeld and Bernhard Fromknecht from Goslar.

According to the contract between the Mining Authority and you, from 1618 these should cede two tenths of their profits for eight years. Necessary construction timber should be allocated by the chief forester . Instead of a tithe, the operators should pay 800 guilders . After the period of eight years had expired, the owners should be given the rights of proximity . This meant that their seized property was released.

In 1623, under the judge Klaus Ränsch, an ironworks was built with a pulling hearth (for slagged iron), fresh fire (for remelting) and a tin hammer.

The silver smelter was shut down during the Thirty Years War and rebuilt in 1691. From 1700, the silver smelter melted gold ore from East India . Furthermore, was electrolytic copper an important product of the hut.

At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, mining in the Harz was running out. Because mining in Altenau was no longer worthwhile, as the supply of coal and smelting material caused increased costs, the Clausthaler and Schulenberger ores melted down.

In 1909 the silver smelter posted an operating loss of 394,000 marks. In 1911 the hut was closed and the last 140 workers and employees were laid off.

Ironworks

A fiscal ironworks was built below the Silberhütte in 1794 (today the area of ​​the campsite at the Okertalsperre ). 51 ° 49 ′ 9 ″ N, 10 ° 26 ′ 22 ″ E ,

This ironworks had a blast furnace that melted magnetic iron , brown iron and red iron . The ore for this came from the Kellwassertal and the Spitzenberg.

The pig iron obtained in the ironworks was granulated in order to absorb sulfur in the silver furnaces of the silverworks.

In 1871, the ironworks was stopped because the red iron was too fine-grained. At that time the ironworks employed 30 workers and employees.

present

In Altenau itself, the street name "An der Silberhütte" and the Schlackenbrink are reminiscent of the facilities at that time. Furthermore, the administration building of the Silberhütte, which is now used as a residential building at the end of Hüttenstrasse, as well as numerous desilvering kettles (" vats ") in the local area, which are now used as wells. There are also two outbuildings, one of which is today's FC Altenau clubhouse and the second building is now used as a warehouse.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g Heinrich Morich: Altenau, once a flourishing mountain town . In: General Harz mountain calendar . 1950, p. 33-35 .
  2. ^ Contributions to the city of Goslar . No. 2 , p. 48 .
  3. ↑ Franz Rosenhainer, Werner Hillebrand, Emil Kraume: The history of the Lower Harz metallurgy . 1968.
  4. ^ A b Henning Calvör: Historical news of the lower and entire upper Harzerischen mines . S. 158-165 .
  5. ↑ C. Bredelow: The Harz for instruction and entertainment for Harz travelers . 1846, p. 516 .

Coordinates: 51 ° 48 ′ 51 ″  N , 10 ° 26 ′ 17 ″  E