Schacht Konrad

Useful Information

Location:	At Salzgitter, between Bleckenstedt and Saulingen. A39 exit 17 Salzgitter Lebenstedt Nord, K39 towarts harbour/SZ-Bleckenstedt, first exit to K12 then twice left. Signposted.
Open:	All year on certain days. Visits must be booked in advance on website. [2009]
Fee:	free. [2009]
Classification:	Iron Mine
Light:	Incandescent Electric Light System
Dimension:	T=30 °C
Guided tours:	half day tours
Photography:
Accessibility:
Bibliography:
Address:	Infostelle Konrad, Chemnitzer Straße 27, 38226 Salzgitter-Lebenstedt, Tel: +49-5341-8673099. 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

Geology

Description

Schacht Konrad is well known to the German public, it is often mentioned in the media. The reason is the plan to use it for the storage of radioactive waste, which caused tremendous opposition in the public. This topic is very complex, and actually not the topic of showcaves.com. So if you want to inform yourself or discuss this, please visit the numerous sites on the web, which offer much more information than we can.

Schacht Konrad is a former iron mine. The ores were of great importance during the Nazi regime in Germany. Only a few hundred meters away a huge ironworks was founded which was connected by the Mittellandkanal and two side branches with the Ruhrgebiet, Berlin, and Volkswagen in Wolfsburg. Volkswagen was also founded by the Nazis, Wolfburg was renamed Stadt des Kraft durch Freude Wagens (City of the Power by Pleasure Car), which was actually the early beetle. As a result coal, ore, furnace and consumer were ideally connected. Primary goal was obviously the production of vehicles for the war. The city of Salzgitter was founded at this time and first named Herrman Göring Stadt. It is actually just the merger of more than 20 villages with a few new founded, artificial city centers. Salgitter is a city with a strange character until today, while rather small concerning inhabitants it is the city covering the most surface area of all cities in Germany.

After the War, the iron ore of Schacht Konrad became soon unprofitable, the mining was stopped. But because of the atomic age, the mine itself became interesting. The German government agency responsible for the storage of radioactive waste, the Bundesamt für Strahlenschutz (BfS), plans to store waste in this mine beginning 2014. Preparation works are running at the moment. As this is a government agency, they are required to inform the public, so they offer tours into the mine. The visit starts with a one-hour introduction into the topic at the Informationsstelle Info Konrad in Salzgitter-Lebenstedt. The visitors relocate to the headframe and are prepared for the mine visit with explanations and necessary equipment, which means full miners gear. The actual mine visit takes 1.5 hours. Afterwards visitor change clothes, get a snack and there is a debriefing.

This is definitely a unique experience, as this is not a show mine. Although it is not mined, this is a working mine with all the preparation work going on. The tour reaches a depth of 1,000 m below ground where the mine has a temperature of 30 °C. This is a pretty interesting way to see how work underground is. However, be aware that radioactive waste and not mining is the main topic of the tour.