Besucherbergwerk Grube Bindweide


Useful Information

Location: Bindweider Str. 2, 57520 Steinebach/Sieg.
(50.732494, 7.829821)
Open: APR to OCT Wed, Sat, Sun, Hol 14-17.
Reservation required.
[2022]
Fee: Adults EUR 8, Children (6-17) EUR 4, Students EUR 6, Disabled EUR 6, Families (2+2) EUR 18. Groups (13+): Adults EUR 7, Children (6-17) EUR 3.50. [2022]
Classification: MineIron Mine ExplainSpeleotherapy
Light: LightIncandescent Electric Light System
Dimension: T=10 °C.
Guided tours: D=1.5 h, L=300 m, Mine Train: L=800 m.
Photography:
Accessibility:
Bibliography:
Address: Besucherbergwerk "Grube Bindweide", Bindweider Str. 2, 57520 Steinebach/Sieg, Tel: +49-2747-291-118. E-mail: E-mail:
Westerwald-Sieg Tourismus, Kreisverwaltung Altenkirchen, Parkstraße 1, 57610 Altenkirchen, Tel: +49-2681-81-3737 E-mail:
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then.
Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

1837 the "Maria an der Bindweide" mining district is awarded to Henry Manour from Dillenburg.
1853 Theodor Stein acquires the Bindweide mine.
1855 Theodor Stein combines the 72 previously acquired individual mines under the name "Bindweide".
1864 drifting of the deep Bindweide adit begins.
1872 14 miners die in a mining accident, including the owner's nephew, who then sells the mine.
1872 Bindweide mine taken over by the Krupp company.
1880 Shaft I with Malakow tower built.
1905/1906 Shaft II sunk and steel headframe erected.
1913 the Tiefer Stollen is taken out of operation.
1932 underground operation finally ceased.
1981 start of excavation by voluntary helpers under the direction of the retired foreman Oswald Brenner.
08-MAY-1986 show mine opened.
2013 complete modernisation.
18-MAY-2014 Visitor Centre at the Bindweide mine reopened with a miners' festival.

Geology

The Westerwald is part of the Rhenish Slate Mountains on the right bank of the Rhine. The rocks were formed in the Palaeozoic era by the deposition of sands and clays in the sea. The resulting rocks were greywacke, greywacke shale and clay slate in varying thickness and extension. During the Variscan orogeny, these layers were folded, creating fissures in the rocks. These were filled again by hydrothermal convection currents with various minerals, but mainly with iron carbonate. The result was veins filled with iron ore. The most important ores were iron glance, brown ironstone and spar ironstone.

Description

The show mine Grube Bindweide is located in the municipality of Steinebach/Sieg. The show mine is part of the GEOPARK Westerwald-Lahn-Taunus and GeoInformation Centre. It is located in the middle of the village on Bindweider Straße, at the foot of a hill. At its peak, the mine had 900 miners. In total, over 5 million tonnes of ore were extracted.

The surface area of the show mine is the former mine site. The visitor centre with museum is located in a former mine building. It was completely modernized in 2013 and now has multimedia stations on the geology of the Westerwald, the formation of the ores, mining and processing to the finished product. The tragic mining accident that cost the lives of 14 miners is also dealt with. An unusual exhibit is the original cash register from the former Krupp's Konsum (supermarket). An art exhibition with terracotta sculptures by the artist Marlies Hof shows miners engaged in various activities. Former miners have posed for the faces. The miners' forge is normally just a museum, but it is fully functional and demonstrations are offered on certain days. The blacksmith team presents this old craft and also offers so-called blacksmith hands-on demonstrations.

The guided tour of the show mine begins with an 800 m ride on the mine train through the Tiefer Stollen (Long Tunnel). The 300 m long tour introduces the machines and techniques used and also allows a look at the ore veins. The original pneumatic drills, which drive their chisels into the rock with a deafening noise, are demonstrated. Afterwards, the train takes you out again. Visitors are given a helmet and a miners headlamp.

The mine also has a so-called Heilstollen (healing gallery) where speleotherapy is offered. In addition, various courses on stress reduction, breathing techniques and progressive muscle relaxation are offered. It is located in the former powder chamber, which is of course also a tunnel. The explosives were stored underground for safety reasons; in the event of an accident, there would have been no damage above ground. It is also possible to get married in a civil ceremony in the powder chamber.

In 1837, the minefield was awarded to Henry Manour from Dillenburg under the name "Maria an der Bindweide". However, he was no longer able to pay the rent after only a few years. The construction of the mine began in 1853 with the acquisition by Theodor Stein. Over the next few years, he merged the 72 previously acquired individual mines under the name "Bindweide". In 1864, driving of the tiefen Bindweider Stollens (deep Bindweider tunnel), today's Tiefer Stollen, began. In 1872, 14 miners died in a mining accident. After months of rescue work and the loss of his own nephew, Theodor Stein decided to sell the Bindweide mine to the Krupp company. To modernize mining, a shaft was sunk and a headframe of the ExplainMalakowturm type was erected on it, called Schacht I (Shaft I). In 1905/1906 Schacht II (Shaft II) was sunk to a depth of 500 m, and this time a steel headframe was erected. Both were demolished after the mine closed. Difficult mining conditions and the world economic crisis led to the closure of the mine in 1932. For a while it was still called a "reserve mine", but mining never resumed.