Besucherbergwerk "Markus-Röhling-Stolln"


Useful Information

Location: Sehmatalstraße 15, 09488 Wiesa/OT Schönfeld.
From Annaberg-Buchholz B95 towards Chemnitz, after 1.7 km in Sehmatal turn left.
(50.599285, 12.995702)
Open: All year daily 9-16:30.
[2023]
Fee: Adults EUR 10, Children (6-17) EUR 6.50, Families (2+2) EUR 28.
Photo and video permission EUR 1.
Groups (15+): Adults EUR 9, Children (6-17) EUR 5.
[2023]
Classification: MineSilver Mine MineCobalt Mine MineUranium Mine TopicSDAG Wismut
Light: LightIncandescent
Dimension: T=8-10 °C.
Guided tours: L=500 m, 600 m mine train, D=60 min, Max=40, MinAge=6. Audioguide: English Français - French Česky - Czech
Photography: with photo and video permission
Accessibility: no
Bibliography:
Address: Besucherbergwerk "Markus-Röhling-Stolln", Sehmatalstraße 15, 09488 Wiesa/OT Schönfeld, Tel: +49-3733-52979, Fax: +49-3733-542631. E-mail: contact
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

1491 First silver discovery at Schreckenberg.
21-SEP-1496 Annaberg mining town founded.
1500 Tieferer "St. Annen Stollen", today's Markus Röhling Stollen, started.
1733 Erstneuglück-Flache-Gang discovered, start of mining of silver and cobalt.
1857 Mining ceased.
1948 Reopened by SAG WISMUT.
1953 Uranium mining ceased.
1990 Verein Altbergbau „Markus-Röhling-Stolln“ association founded.
JUL-1994 Show mine opened.
23-SEP-2022 New tour opened.

Geology

The Annaberger Graugneiskuppel (Annaberg grey gneiss dome) contains schistosity-parallel dipping veins with 15° to 20° degrees to the northwest. The meta-black shales with a thickness of 20 cm to 50 cm are called Schwebende (floaters). There are 22 of these in the entire district. The younger NW to NNW-SSO striking gangues contain fluorite, baryte and bismuth, cobalt, nickel, silver and uranium ores. In addition, there are older east-west striking spar veins, the so-called Flachen (flats), which contained tin and tungsten. In the Markus Röhling mine, the Erstneuglück Flache and the Heynitz Flache were mined, which produced the most silver and cobalt ores, especially at the intersections with other veins. Silver ores were proustite, pyrargyrite, argentite, native silver and chloanthite. Cobalt ores were skutterudite and safflorite.

Description

The Besucherbergwerk "Markus-Röhling-Stolln" ("Markus-Röhling-Stolln" show mine) near Annaberg-Buchholz is named after a mining lord who was once its owner. The Markus-Röhling-Stolln was started in 1500 as the Erbstollen (adit) St. Annen Stollen and later renamed. In 1733, during its construction, the Erstneuglück-Flache gangue, later the main ore passage of the mine, was discovered. The mine was in operation for many generations and was closed in 1857. During this time, about 15.4 tonnes of silver and 51,326 hundredweight of cobalt ore were extracted. This made the mine one of the most productive in the Annaberg mining district. It was reopened after the Second World War, by SDAG Wismut in search of uranium ore. In a few years, about 40 tonnes of uranium ore were mined, then the mine was finally closed due to a lack of mineable ore.

The mine has been made accessible again since the 1970s and is run by the Markus-Röhling-Stolln Frohnau e.V. non-profit association. Exhibits from other mines in the area were also collected for this purpose. Today, the mine has an open-air area with various mining trains, hunts, drill mounts and other large equipment from the mid-20th century. From the entrance building, where visitors don their helmets and protective cloaks, an electric mine train takes them 600 m in. From the station in the mountain, a straight tunnel of Wismut AG leads to a place where the old mine was cut. From there, the guided tour follows this historic adit.

The part of the mine that was driven by WISMUT in the 1950s is quite spacious. The driving method was classical tunnelling, in which each shift begins with the removal of the material on site. Once the site is clear, holes are drilled into the rock face with drills and explosives are added. From a safe retreat, the explosives are detonated. The passage is now filled with the toxic gases from the blast, the shift moves out and the ventilation system transports the toxic gases away until the shift layer arrives and the cycle begins again.

The spacious gallery serves as a kind of underground museum and many of the devices powered by compressed air are demonstrated. Mostly, however, at reduced pressure and thus at a lower volume than during active mining. Nevertheless, the noise is deafening.

Historical mining was an obstacle for WISMUT, finds were destroyed and not secured. A historical Wasserkunst (water wheel) was thus destroyed, but was partially reconstructed by the association. Originally, water was supplied from the surface through a supply tunnel. Via a wooden water wheel, it reached an intermediate level from where it drove two other water wheels with overshot gears. Afterwards, it was led out of the mine again through an Erbstolle (adit). This also took in the water that was pumped up from deeper parts of the mine with the energy gained. The power was transmitted via a wooden beams to the pumps installed at various depths. The reconstructed water wheel is demonstrated during the tour. Without the pumps connected, a single shovelful of water is enough to set it in motion.

The historical passageway has probably been extended considerably for the show mine. It slopes slightly to the side, forcing visitors to bend down, but was probably originally much lower. You can clearly see the traces of the hammer and chisel. This passage also does not follow an engineer's plan in a straight line, but follows the gangue which contained the mined ore. It doesn't make any bends, but it doesn't run straight either. Until recently, the tour ended after about 300 m and visitors returned the same way. With funding, a 25-metre-long gallery could be dug which connects to a parallel gallery, so that a circular route has now been established. The new circuit was opened in 2022.