Südfeldstollen Thomasroith

Useful Information

Location:	Stollenweg 20, Thomasroith, 4901 Ottnang am Hausruck. (48.077781, 13.618197)
Open:	By appointment only. [2025]
Fee:	free, donations welcome. [2025]
Classification:	Mining Museum Lignite Mine
Light:	Incandescent
Dimension:
Guided tours:
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	yes
Bibliography:
Address:	Südfeldstollen Thomasroith, Bergknappenverein Thomasroith, Stollenweg 20, Thomasroith, 4901 Ottnang am Hausruck. Wilfried Eckstein, Tel: +43-664 5635481. Johann Ledermüller, Tel: +43-680 4400141. Ernst Rinortner, Tel: +43-664 473466875. Ernst Hager, Tel: +43-681 20464686. Jürgen Seifert, Tel: +43-664-6537489.
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

1769	first coal discovered, lignite mining begins in the Hausruck region.
1847	start of mining by the Traunthal union.
1855	planned expansion of the settlement for workers who had moved in from Bohemia.
1877	Holzleithen-Thomasroith narrow-gauge railway is built.
1920s	mining shifts to Ampfwang.
1950s	3,300 people employed in mining.
1960	Südfeldstollen is the last tunnel to be opened in the area.
1968	end of mining operations.
2004	Südfeldstollen tunnel developed under the project management of Dr Karl Starke by the Thomasroith Miners' Association.
2005	show mine and museum opened.

Geology

Description

The Südfeldstollen Thomasroith is part of the region’s lignite mining industry, which flourished in the 1950s. It was the last tunnel to be dug here in 1960, and mining came to an end with its closure in 1968. Just 20 years earlier, lignite mining had been the region’s largest employer, with 3,300 employees. One million tonnes of coal were mined each year. The first coal was discovered in 1760, and as it was easy to extract, mining began immediately. At that time, however, there were only four farms here. Then several trade unions competed with each other. Mining was professionalised by Baron Rothschild’s Wolfsegg-Traunthaler Kohlenwerks AG (WTK) in 1847. In 1856, the Wolfsegg-Traunthaler Kohlenwerks- und Eisenbahngesellschaft (Wolfsegg-Traunthal Coal Works and Railway Company) was formed through the merger of the properties of Alois Miesbach, Baron Rothschild and Count Julien-Wallsee. Mining was further intensified by the construction of a railway line to Attnang and, again in 1877, by the construction of the Holzleithen-Thomasroith narrow-gauge railway. The centre was around Thomasroith, but shifted to Ampflwang in the 1920s. Lignite was mined there until the 1990s. A visit to the Ampfelwang Railway and Mining Museum is certainly an ideal addition.

The Südfeldstollen was developed into a show mine in 2004 and 2005 by the Thomasroith Miners' Association under the project management of Dr. Karl Starke. They were supported by the Hausruck Coal Mining Museum Association, the municipality of Ottnang am Hausruck and the province of Upper Austria. The open-air museum in front of the tunnel entrance can be visited free of charge. Here you will find mine trains and large machines. There is also a covered rest area. In addition, the Grubengeistweg themed trail starts here on the former railway line of the Holzleithen-Thomasroith narrow-gauge railway.

The entrance to the tunnel has been concreted over, which shows that it dates from the mid-20th century. After 35 m the concrete ends, and you can see various methods of timbering used in the mine, the German door frame and the reinforcement with iron rings. The two-man tunnel driving and mining methods are shown, as well as the wide pillar mining method with Muschamp boxes. These are special techniques which were used in lignite mining. In addition, a Bartz-type mine locomotive and various mine carts can also be seen.

This tunnel is actually quite extraordinary, as it is a genuine lignite mine. Coal mines are not usually preserved because the extraction of large volumes would create huge cavities that would be at serious risk of collapse. For this reason, coal mining generally involves the tunnels being immediately sealed off after extraction.