The miners' bands

The tradition of miners' bands in the Saar region goes back to the year 1819. There were up to 15 different miners' bands in the Saarland during the golden age of coal mining. In the course of pits and mining locations closing down, however, the number of bands decreased steadily since the end of the 1950s. Today, the remnants play as part of different ensembles under the name "Bergkapelle der RAG an der Saar". Records of their songs were released regularly. Towards the end of the 1970s, the "Steigermarsch" was released on vinyl as part of the "Die Bergkapelle spielt" line. Conducted by Hans-Gerd Klesen, the miners' band of the Saarbergwerke AG played one of the oldest miners' songs. The "Steigermarsch", also knowns as the "Steigerlied" deals with the hope of miners to return from their dangerous work unharmed.