Niedersächsisches Museum für Kali- und Salzbergbau

Useful Information

Location:	An der Halde 10, 30925 Ronnenberg. (52.3443177, 9.6552053)
Open:	no restrictions. [2026]
Fee:	free. [2026]
Classification:	Salt Mine
Light:	Electric Light
Dimension:
Guided tours:
Photography:
Accessibility:
Bibliography:
Address:	Niedersächsisches Museum für Kali- und Salzbergbau e.V., An der Halde 10, 30925 Ronnenberg, Tel: +49-511-4340744. 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

15 September 1973	Hansa potash mine closed.
1975	Ronnenberg potash mine closed following a water ingress incident.
1991	Hansa Mining Documentation Association founded.
1994	The town of Ronnenberg provides premises in the former mine operations building.
1996	Museum opens.
2000	The supporting association ‘Niedersächsisches Museum für Kali- und Salzbergbau e.V.’ is founded.
2008	Outdoor area with a canopy for the mine train created.
2021	Entrance and underground areas redesigned.

Geology

The North German Plain consists of approximately 4.5 km of Mesozoic sediments. The formation of basins led to the intrusion of the sea across large parts of Europe, and a wide variety of sediments were deposited in these shallow inland seas. The base of these sediments is crystalline bedrock. Overlying this are rocks of the Zechstein, the earliest period when seawater penetrated the new basin. At that time, the connection was not permanent; seawater entered and evaporated in the arid continental climate. Thick layers of gypsum, rock salt and potash salt formed, and this sequence was deposited in multiple layers.

Much later, following a phase of subsidence and deposition, uplift occurred once more; the sea became land, and erosion set in. This movement led to the formation of faults and fault zones, causing the rocks to crack. Salt is lighter than normal rock; moreover, it is plastic under high pressure and temperature, so it began to flow and rise. It made use of the fissures, and thus salt rose to the surface. Salt is lighter than normal rock; moreover, under high pressure and temperature it is plastic, so it began to flow and rise. It used the fissures for this, leading to the formation of salt diapirs at fissure intersections, as well as salt walls along fault zones.

Mining is based on the fact that salt-tectonic structures reach the surface throughout the North German Plain. In some cases, they are reached by groundwater, forming brine springs from which salt was extracted through evaporation and distillation. In other cases, shafts were sunk and the salt mined underground. As a rule, both rock salt for human consumption and potash salt for fertiliser production and the chemical industry are found. Depending on which is more common or has been mined more extensively, the term used is either ‘salt mines’ or ‘potash mines’.

Description

Niedersächsisches Museum für Kali- und Salzbergbau (Lower Saxony Museum of Potash and Salt Mining) is a museum dedicated to the mining of potash, run by the association of the same name. It is housed in a building that formerly belonged to the Ronnenberg potash works; the building is now owned by the town of Ronnenberg, which uses the neighbouring building as its town hall. The name is somewhat unwieldy; more commonly used are Kalibergbaumuseum Ronnenberg-Empelde or, even more simply, Kalibergbaumuseum Ronnenberg. The museum has an exhibition area of 300 m² spread across seven rooms, showcasing the history of mining in Empelde and the surrounding area. The focus is on the geology and chemistry of salt, the history of salt extraction in Empelde, as well as extraction technology, tools and the miners’ equipment. A special feature is mine rescue services, including a display of the Dahlbusch bomb. Mining traditions and culture are also explained.

Since 2008, the museum has also had an outdoor area, which serves as a kind of open-air museum for large-scale machinery. The centrepiece is a mine train comprising an electric locomotive, passenger carriages and freight wagons, which has even been covered. There is also a depth gauge with a pulley and the cover of the former shaft of the former Shaft III at the Hansa works.

The Gewerkschaft Silberberg (Silberberg Mining Union) was founded in 1873 for the mining of iron, lead and silver deposits near Struthütten in the district of Siegen. In 1894, the Kalibohrgesellschaft Hansa (Hansa Potash Drilling Company) was established, which was involved in the development of potash deposits in the Empelde district. As early as 1896, the Potash Drilling Company took over the Silberberg Mining Association and they merged to form the Gewerkschaft Hansa-Silberberg. Between 1894 and 1897, test drilling was carried out to explore the salt deposit. In 1896, the head shaft was sunk, but it was not until 11 years later, in 1907, that the main working level was reached at a depth of 601 metres. In 1908, mining operations commenced, along with a raw salt mill featuring two grinding systems and a small potassium chloride plant. Over the decades, two further shafts were sunk, a final depth of 1,050 m was reached, and a double-girder hoisting frame was erected. This made it one of the largest potash mines in Lower Saxony in the 1960s. Economic difficulties from the early 1970s led to the closure of the plant on 15 September 1973.