Besucherbergwerk Kilianstollen

Useful Information

Location:	Mühlenstraße 40b, 34431 Marsberg. A44 exit Marsberg, B7 to Marsberg. A46 freeway end B480/B7 to Marsberg. (51.453481, 8.861667)
Open:	APR to OCT Sat, Sun 14. NRW school holiday Wed, Sat, Sun 14. [2023]
Fee:	Adults EUR 10, Children (7-12) EUR 5, Children (0-6) frei, Families (2+*) 25. [2023]
Classification:	Copper Mine Speleotherapy
Light:	Incandescent Electric Light System
Dimension:	T=10 °C, H=98 %.
Guided tours:	D=2 h.
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:	Daniela Böddicker (1993): Der Kupferbergbau in Marsberg, vorwiegend im 19. und 20. Jahrhundert Hrsg.: Uni Münster. Münster 1993 (Mag.-Arb.). Felix Bieker, Klaus Lattek (1992): Kilianstollen – Bergbau und Geologie in Marsberg Hrsg.: Marsberger Heimatbund e.V. Schulte, Marsberg 1992. Rainer Slotta (1983): Die Gruben auf den Erzvorkommen von Stadtberge-Niedermarsberg In: Deutsches Bergbau-Museum Bochum (Hrsg.): Technische Denkmäler in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland. Teil 4/1 (Der Metallerzbergbau). Bochum 1983, S. 667–681.
Address:	Marsberger Heimatbund e. V., Rathaus, Mühlenstraße 40b, 34431 Marsberg, Tel: +49-2992-4366. E-mail: Stadtmarketing und Wirtschaftsförderung Marsberg e.V., Bäckerstraße 8, 34431 Marsberg, Tel: +49-2992-3388. 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

1150	first documented mention of mining the ores of the Eresberg by King Konrad III.
1838	the Friederike mine is opened.
1842	the Oscar mine is opened.
1845	the Mina mine is opened.
MAR-1945	mining ends.
1981	Kilianstollen is opened again.
26-MAY-1984	show mine opened.
2013	Heilstollen Marsberg opened.

Geology

Description

The Kilianstollen show mine is run by the Marsberg Heritage Society, which has made the mine accessible to the public. The Upper Devonian to Lower Carboniferous rocks are completely exposed in the mine. The mining techniques, the geology and also the processing of the ore are explained. Special attention is paid to the processing of the copper-bearing solutions. The museum presents the diverse minerals that can still be found today on tailings and in quarries. A healing gallery for speleotherapy has also been in operation since 2013.

Warm clothing and good shoes are recommended for the tour. Your own torch is also helpful. The tour includes a ride on the mine train.

Copper mining in the Marsberg area has a tradition of over a thousand years. Copper has probably been mined and used as a coin metal since the late 8th century. The first documentary evidence of mining is from the 12th century, in 1150 Conrad III (HRR) granted Wibald von Stablo the right to mine for copper, gold, silver, lead and tin in the Eresberg. Until the 16th century, mining was done above ground in pits; the problem was the groundwater, which often caused the pits to sink. After the establishment of trade unions, which also organised the infrastructure for pumping, deep mining began in 1650. It reached its peak in the 19th century, under the Stadtberg trade union, founded in 1834, which managed the mining until its liquidation in 1930.

In 1935, mining and smelting operations were resumed with the help of state subsidies. However, mining was a Nazi strategy to produce war-related resources and ended with the Second World War. A new smelting process, chlorinating roasting, led to considerable environmental problems. Actually, only common salt was added to the raw ore, but while the organic matter contained in the ore was broken down by the chlorine as desired, chlorinated hydrocarbons, including dioxin and furan compounds, were created in this way. It was particularly unfortunate that the red slag was used as metallurgical chippings for sports fields for a decade after the war. It was not until 1991 that measurements on sports fields in Bremen revealed heavy dioxin and furan contamination, some of which exceeded the permissible limits by a factor of ten thousand.