Röhrigschacht

The former copper slate mine of Röhrigschacht with its head frame
Close up of the Röhrigschacht head frame

The Röhrigschacht ("Röhrig Shaft") is an old copper slate mine which, today, is a mining museum and show mine in the village of Wettelrode in the county of Mansfeld-Südharz in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt.

Location

The Röhrigschacht lies in the transition zone from the Lower Harz to the southeastern Harz Foreland in the nature park of Harz/Saxony-Anhalt and within the South Harz Karst Landscape Biosphere Reserve. It is located on the northwestern edge of Wettelrode, north of Sangerhausen and south of the Steinberg (348.8 m above sea level (NN)). The above-ground elements of the old copper works lie at an elevation of 305 m.[1]

History

Copper slate or schist was mined in the Mansfeld Land, southeast Harz and southeastern Harz Foreland from 1200 to 1990.,[2] for example in the Sangerhausen Field (Sangerhäuser Revier) and thus in the Röhrigschacht. The mineshaft is part of the historic mining landscape of the southeaster Harz Foreland. Its head frame, which dates to 1888,[2] is one of the oldest in Europe.

Museum

The mining museum opened in 1987[3] above ground and has information about the formation of ore deposits, geology and mineralogy as well as the 800-year-old[3] history of mining in the area. There are examples of historic and more recent mining equipment and tools (so-called Gezähe) on display, such as drilling and compressed air machines and chargers, transportation equipment, face mechanisation, and equipment and machines for ventilation and drainage.

In the underground show mine, opened in 1991,[4] visitors descend to a depth of 283 m[4] using the old hoist as part of a guided tour. They are then transported by pit railway to a copper slate seam about 1,000 metres away[4] in a 19th-century mining field.[4] There, with the aid of exhibits, guides described the old mining methods used before the Modern Era.

Walking

The Röhrigschacht is No. 222[5] in the system of checkpoints of the Harzer Wandernadel hiking network; the checkpoint itself is located on an information board by the car park next to the show mine. The Karst Trail runs past the old mine about 300 metres to the north.

References

  1. ↑ Saxony-Anhalt Viewer
  2. 1 2 Geschichte des Röhrigschachts at roehrigschacht.de
  3. 1 2 Das Bergbaumuseum (übertage) Röhrigschacht at roehrigschacht.de
  4. 1 2 3 4 Das Schaubergwerk (untertage) Röhrigschacht at roehrigschacht.de
  5. ↑ Harzer Wandernadel: Stempelstelle 222 – Schaubergwerk Röhrigschacht at harzer-wandernadel.de

Coordinates: 51°31′2.7″N 11°16′57″E / 51.517417°N 11.28250°E / 51.517417; 11.28250

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