Grube Marie in der Kohlbach

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Location:	(49.515640, 8.680440)
Open:
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Classification:	Lead Mine Silver Mine
Light:	Incandescent Electric Light System
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Address:	Grube Marie in der Kohlbach.
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History

Geology

The ore is a vein mineralisation which was formed during the subsidence of the Rhine Graben. The graben is bordered on the east and west side by a fault zone which was formed during the subsidence. The fissures which were created by this movement were filled in by pore water with dissolved minerals. The gangue rocks are quartz and baryte as well as ores with lead and a small copper and silver content. The lead was economically interesting because of its high content and the silver because of its high value.

Description

Grube Marie in der Kohlbach (Marie in the Kohlbach mine) is a rather small show mine. A day gallery leads 50 m into the mountain and ends in a shaft chamber with a base area of about 5 m by 6 m. The entrance gallery was a water-solving gallery. The entrance gallery was a water-solving gallery, i.e. it was used to drain off the mine water. The shaft chamber has a mining shaft and a main shaft (inclined shaft) to the deep level 24 m below. Probably the most important archaeological find from the mine is a climbing board, which is a board with holes in the middle. It was used in a similar way to a ladder, the holes serving as steps. Miners refer to something like this as a ride, the movement of miners within the mine is called driving.

Ore mining in the Kohlbach Valley was first mentioned in a document in 1012. With this document, King Henry II granted the Gaugrafschaft Lobdengau to the diocese of Worms. However, he kept the Kohlbach Valley and the neighbouring Apfelbach Valley because ore mines were in operation there. The first mention of the Marie mine is from August 1291, when the then owners, the brothers Conrad II and Friedrich von Strahlenberg from neighbouring Schriesheim, placed the Marie mine under the control of Ludwig II, Count Palatine of the Rhine. However, they retained the right to half of the profits.

Over the centuries, various documents give an insight into various owners of the mine, but more precise information about mining is hard to find. However, the years from 1474 to 1504 and from 1771 to 1782 seem to have been particularly productive. In the case of the second phase, this was probably due to the fact that the Deep Adit, most of which is now flooded, had been completed shortly before. It drained the deep part of the mine, the water was then lifted by pumps into the gallery of the show mine and led into the Kohlbach. The end of mining activities in 1783 seems to have been a consequence of the exhaustion of the deposit. Various prospecting attempts until 1936 were unsuccessful.

Since 1995, the mine has been excavated and investigated by the AG Altbergbau Odenwald. This later became the Altbergbau Bergstraße-Odenwald e. V. association, which opened the mine as an exhibition mine in 2008 and still operates it today. Despite its small size, all historical mining techniques are presented in the mine. The mine is a geopoint of the Bergstraße-Odenwald Geo-Nature Park.