Silberbergwerk Suggental

Grube Erich

Useful Information

Location:	Talstraße 36, 79183 Waldkirch. B294 exit Denlingen/Suggental, at Suggental. (48.066729, 7.935114)
Open:	By appointment only. Preferably at the weekend. [2023]
Fee:	St. Anna-Stollen: Adults EUR 4, Children (6-16) EUR 2, Children (0-5) frei. St. Josephi-Stollen: Adults EUR 10, Children (6-16) EUR 5, Children (0-5) frei. [2023]
Classification:	Silver Mine
Light:	helmet with headlamp
Dimension:
Guided tours:	St. Anna-Stollen: L=57 m, D=20 min, Min=6. St. Josephi-Stollen: L=340 m, VR=40 m, D=2 h, Min=6.
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:
Address:	Silberbergwerk Suggenthal e.V., Dr. Wolf Dietrich Bock, Berliner Str. 112, 79211 Denzlingen. 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

13th century	A heavy rain destroys the retention basins and floods the mine, mining ends.
1986	Silberbergwerk Suggental e.V. founded.
2004	Tours are offered.

Geology

The central Black Forest gneiss mass is located in the central Black Forest. This contains veins whose polymetallic ores were formed hydrothermally. Water with a high mineral content rose along fissures in the rock and deposited the dissolved minerals in areas with a low temperature and different chemistry. The fissures were formed by tectonic movements, more precisely dextral oblique thrusts forming a fault zone that strikes southeast-northwest and extends roughly from the entrance to the Suggental up to the Luser. The cause was the formation of the Rhine Valley Rift.

The veins contain barite, quartz, and sulphide ores. Barite is the main mineral, but also quartz, mainly as a very hard, amorphous mass like chert or chalcedony. Rock crystals are also found. The most important metal ores are galena, pale ore, and chalcopyrite. They form millimetre to centimetre wide strings or nests. In the Middle Ages, however, only the silver carriers pale ore and galena were mined. The pale ore contained a silver content of 57 kg/t, i.e. 5.7 %.

Description

The Silberbergwerk Suggental is a series of galleries which the Silberbergwerk Suggental e.V. has excavated and made accessible since its foundation in 1986. The association was founded to "carry out and promote projects on local history research, especially on the old mining industry in the Waldkirch district of Suggental". Mapping was carried out, historical documents were researched, and finds were examined and documented. Guided tours are offered for interested visitors in small groups, but it is not a show mine with regular opening hours.

The St. Anna Stollen is the so-called "small guided tour". The passage is level and only 56 m long, so it is also manageable for visitors with disabilities. You can push a cart, use tools to mine rock yourself or operate a pump. In addition to the working conditions from the Middle Ages until the closure of the mine, you can also learn a lot about the geology of the deposit. Clothing that can get dirty and good shoes are highly recommended. A helmet and headlamp are provided.

The medieval St. Josephi-Stollen is 340 m long and fully accessible. The so-called key passage is an 8-metre-long part which was hewn out of the rock with a hammer and iron during the Middle Ages and is only 90 cm high and 60 cm wide. This requires visitors to get down on their knees, but once you've done that, the rest is a piece of cake. The way out is a different one, climbing up six ladders to reach the Anna gallery, 29 metres higher. This tour definitely requires the right equipment, a cave suit, rubber boots, helmet and headlamp as well as gloves are highly recommended.