Unverhofft Segen Gottes Erbstolln

Useful Information

Location:	Dorfstraße 16, 09600 Oberschöna. Parking at the Building, additional parking at the playground at An der Hauptstraße. (50.9052157, 13.2458675)
Open:	Tag des offenen Denkmals (SEP), Tag der Schauanlagen (1. Sun JUL). [2026]
Fee:
Classification:	Silver Mine Lead Mine Copper Mine Nickel Mine Cobalt Mine
Light:	Electric Light
Dimension:
Guided tours:
Photography:
Accessibility:
Bibliography:
Address:	Geschäftsstelle der HFBHK e.V., SAXONIA-FREIBERG-STIFTUNG, c/o Heiko Götze, Vorsitzender, Chemnitzer Str. 8, 09599 Freiberg/Sachsen, Tel: +49-3731-160-455. verein@hfbhk.de
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

1318	A document suggests mining took place in the area.
1729	mining resumed after a prolonged hiatus.
1735	A wheel with a 72-metre-long drive shaft was installed at Hammergraben.
1789–1791	Wheel house with mechanical hoisting system constructed.
1804	mining operations ceased.
1981	developed as a show mine.
1982	show mine opened to the public.

Geology

The polymetallic gangues mainly contained galena, stibnite, red pyrite, copper, nickel, cobalt and ‘Gilbe’, a decomposition product with a very high silver content of up to 10 per cent.

Description

Unverhofft Segen Gottes Erbstolln (Unexpected Blessing from God Adit) is what is known as a gravity drainage – an adit with a gentle gradient designed to carry water out of the mine. For this to work, the mine must be situated higher than a neighbouring valley, and the adit must lead down to that valley. With this sort of gravity-powered drainage system, it is therefore possible to drain all parts of the mine that lie higher than this adit. In order to drain deeper parts of the mine as well, pumps must be used; in the Middle Ages, these could only be powered either by muscle power or by water power. There was a wheelhouse here, where a water wheel drove a pump to lift water from deeper parts of the mine. Both the drive water and the pumped water then drained away via the drainage adit. For this reason, the mine is also known as Radstube Oberschöna. There is, in turn, a wide variety of names; for example, it is sometimes referred to as Unverhoffter Segen Gottes or, in the hyphenated form, Unverhofft-Segen-Gottes-Erbstolln.

The water management in the mining district was complex and crucial to the success of the mines. The mine water from the Brander, Erbisdorfer and Himmelsfürster mining districts was channelled from the Telersberger Stolln and the Neuer Segen Gottes Stolln into the Striegis river. Near the Oberschöna oil mill, the water was channelled to the mine, together with additional spring water, via a 4.4 km-long system of channels and ditches. Here, it was channelled through a ‘Kunstrad’ – a wooden water wheel – which drove sets of pumps to raise the mine water. Ore extraction from the shaft, on the other hand, was carried out using hand winches.

The mine is thought to be older, but little is known about its early mining history. Its history began with its recommissioning in 1729. Shortly afterwards, in 1735, a wheel with a 72-metre-long drive shaft was installed in the Hammergraben to drive the pumps. This led not only to mechanical problems and high maintenance costs, but also to legal disputes with the owner of the Hammergraben. Finally, in 1788, Mining Captain v. Oppel produced a report on the condition of the mine. On the basis of this report, the existing man-made tunnel leading to the Junger Schönberg mine was extended as far as the Unverhofft Segen Gottes Erbstolln mine.

The heyday of Oberschöna mining field, on the western edge of the Freiberg ore district, was around 1550 and around 1730. During the first period, the main mines were the Hohe Neujahr and Junger Schönberg mines. However, this came to an end when the ores had to be mined at ever greater depths and the mines began to flood. In the second period, it was therefore the Unverhofft Segen Gottes Erbstolln mine that utilised the technique developed by Agricola to solve the problem.

Guided tours of the show mine are led by former miners and mining enthusiasts. Visitors can explore the drainage shaft, the shaft area, the wheel house and two mining areas. In the foreman’s room next to the tunnel entrance, there is an exhibition on the history and technology of the site. In other words, the focus is on hydraulic engineering, not mining. The show mine is managed by the Historische Freiberger Berg- und Hüttenknappschaft e.V. (HFBHK). This association also looks after the Muldenhütten Cylinder Blower, an iron cylinder blower for the Royal Saxon Metallurgical Works. Despite its close connection to mining, it is not a show mine and is therefore somewhat outside the scope of our topic.