The heritage: Mining in Saarland - Part I

Credit to the sun, Under ground, Father State

By State Chancellery Saarland

Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes, Öffentlichkeitsarbeit

Das Erbe, 250 Jahre Bergbau im Saarland

Ministerpräsidentin Anke Rehlinger zur Ausstellung.

The benefits of the sun by Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Credit to the sun

During the carboniferous period, when the region of what is now theSaarland still lay near the equator, the basis for the formation of mighty hard coal seams formed. Under exclusion of air and the pressure of upperlying sediments, the chemical process known as „carbonification“which transforms plants into coal began. If inorganic sediment was washedover the plant material during and after the peat formation phase, leaves, branches and tree trunks - above all those from scale trees - were preservedas imprints in the layers of coal.

Fossilization of a tree stump from the Carboniferous period by Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Drill core made from grey sandstone with grains of coal by Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Fossil imprint of a fern in a drill core by Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Fossil stone core of a seed by Horst Schmadel, Seingbouse (F) and Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Fossil stone core of a scale tree by Horst Schmadel, Seingbouse (F) and Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Fossil fern imprint by Horst Schmadel, Seingbouse (F) and Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Two fragments of a fossil stone core of a scale tree by IndustrieKultur Saar GmbH, Göttelborn and Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Fossil stone core of a horsetail by Karl Kleineberg, Illingen and Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Fragment of a fossil club moss by IndustrieKultur Saar GmbH, Göttelborn and Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Fossil stone core of a horsetail with perforated hole and a core drill bit by Horst Schmadel, Seingbouse (F) and Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Wood sump moor landscape in the Carboniferous period. by Schulmuseum Ottweiler and Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Free-burning coal by Jürg Steiner, Berlin and Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

20 coals by Steffi Groß-Hanke, Saarbrücken and Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Bituminous coal with a strip of candle coal by Guido Wolff, Saarbrücken and Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Bituminous coal from the Maybach pit by Guido Wolff, Saarbrücken and Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

12 different types of coal by Horst Schmadel, Seingbouse (F) and Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Different qualities of coal by Horst Schmadel, Seingbouse (F) and Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

The coal by Steffi Groß-Hanke, Saarbrücken and Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

What can be generated from coal by Schulmuseum Ottweiler and Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Two ways, one goal by Schulmuseum Ottweiler and Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Choker made from carved candle coal by Gunter Altenkirch, Gersheim-Rubenheim and Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Brooch engraved from jet by Gunter Altenkirch, Gersheim-Rubenheim and Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Necklace engraved from jet by Gunter Altenkirch, Gersheim-Rubenheim and Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Mineral collection by Karl Kleineberg, Illingen. and Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Underground by Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Under ground

Mine workings denote all the underground premises directly or indirectly required for extracting a mineral. The creation of a complex gallery network fulfils several functions: on the one hand, the coal must be transported to the surface as conveniently as possible. On the other hand, both the constant influx of pit water must be pumped out and also the dangerous gases - above all the methane released by mining - must be discharged and oxygen sucked in to allow the miners to breathe. The mine workings are created as a function of the geological conditions of the respective site. All the maxims of safety must also be considered at the same time.

Crack extract by Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Small theodolite, medium accuracy by Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Engineering theodolite with compass attached by Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Suspended theodolite for a wide variety of measuring tasks underground by Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Support system models Support system models by Bergbaumuseum Bexbach and Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Technical display board of a coal mine by Schulmuseum Ottweiler and Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

alter Lehrfilm BergwerkState Chancellery Saarland

Saarberg AG used the "Coal Mine" film to train its apprentices. The complex procedure of building a coal mine and the individual steps for generating coal are explained in the film based on intricate animated diagrams.

"Wau Wau" pit telephone by IndustrieKultur Saar GmbH, Göttelborn and Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Saarland map by Schulmuseum Ottweiler and Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Target mark Theo 01 with a circular level by Karl Kleineberg, Illingen and Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Surveying device by Saarländisches Bergbaumuseum Bexbach and Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Compass by Saarländisches Bergbaumuseum Bexbach and Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Drawing instrument by Saarländisches Bergbaumuseum Bexbach and Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Diagram of the structure of a mine by Schulmuseum Ottweiler and Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Straw box by Historisches Museum Saar and Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Functional model of the miner roof support by Historisches Museum Saar and Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Mine surveyor tools by Karl Kleineberg, Illingen and Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Norm meter of a mine surveyor by Gunter Altenkirch, Gersheim-Rubenheim and Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Clipboard with pen by Karl Kleineberg, Illingen and Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Drawing of a vertical section through a coal mine by Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Children's drawing of the structure of a coal mine by Schulmuseum Ottweiler and Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Shaft bell by Karl Heinz Janson, Heusweiler and Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Shaft telephone with a dial by Historisches Museum Saar and Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Mine shaft undergroundState Chancellery Saarland

The images were produced at the Saar mine in the period between April and September 2012. They show a mine shaft from four different perspectives: View from the conveyor cage upwards, view from the conveyor cage of the wall whizzing past, view of miners in the conveyor cage and view of the hoist operators on the wire rope hoist. The speed at which the conveyor cage plunges into the depths (eight to twelve metres a second) is particularly apparent here.

Grubenbahn Unter TageState Chancellery Saarland

Van Wersch Kappen (Kappe is German for the upper part of a mine prop) by Guido Wolff, Saarbrücken and Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Pit prop by Guido Wolff, Saarbrücken and Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Rubber conveyor by RAG, Saarbrücken and Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Signal system with shaft telephone and speaker by RAG, Saarbrücken and Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Figure of the Countess Elisabeth von Lothringen on the tomb of the grave at the collegiate church of Saarbrücken-St. Arnual by Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Charlotte Amalie von Nassau-Usingen, mother of Prince Wilhelm Heinrich and custodial Regent of Nassau-Saarbrücken until 1738 by Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Portrait of Prince Wilhelm Heinrich of Nassau-Saarbrücken (1741-1769) as a young man in the uniform of a field marshal by Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Map of the "Département de la Sarre" to which the majority of present Saarland belonged to during the Napoleonic era (until 1815) by Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

The Quierschied glassworks at the end of the 18th century. One of the oldest views of a Saarland industrial company by Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

View of the Saarbrücken Ludwigskirche over Saarbrücken and St. Johann in 1840. Fuming smokestacks from the early industrialisation period are in the background of the picture by Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

»Schema in einem Profil derer 3 Wellesweiler Kohlflötze wie der Bau dererselben zu Vermeidung derer Brüche hätte Bergmännisch angelegt seyn können und sollen [Schema in a profile of 3 Wellesweiler coal seams of how the construction of same to avoid fracturing can and should be done]« (Supplement to a drilling report from 1765) by Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Leopold Sello (sitting to the right) at the Budget Commission of the Prussian federal state parliament in 1862 by Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Opening of the station in Bexbach which was the terminus of the Ludwigsbahn between Ludwigshafen and the Bavarian municipality of Bexbach in 1849 by Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Inauguration of the Bismarck monument at the Saarbrücken palace square. The "Erbprinzenpalais" at which the mining authority and the mining headquarters of Saarbrücken were accommodated until 1880 is in the background by Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

A few industrial companies are already marked on the section of the "Cassini map" from the turning point of the 18th and 19th century in the greater Saarbrücken area. by Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Father: State by Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Father State

The era of State coal mining around the Saar began with two decrees of Prince Wilhelm Heinrich von Nassau-Saarbrücken dating from 1751 and 1754. The systematisation of mining according to mining art still in its beginnings under the prince was continued under French rule (1792–1815). The first scientific mapping of the Saar coalfield in the so-called Duhamel Atlas is considered the culmination of this phase. The actual state-owned era began around the Saar following the transfer of the Saar mines to Prussia and Bavaria. The State mining company provided for its miners with bonus houses and welfare facilities on the one hand, but also however intervened deeply in their private lives with strict conditions on the other hand.

Decree for "nationalising" mining - Dr. Wilhelm Heinrich 1754 by Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Emperor Wilhelm II. and his wife Auguste Viktoria were received at the city hall in St. Johann upon their visit to the Saar cities on 14 May 1904. by Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Wilhelm Heinrich Dern, the first Prussian District Administrator of Saarbrücken, previously served in Nassau-Saarbrücken and in France as a deputy of the legislative assembly in Paris. by Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Hammer and pick on the carrying handle by Saarländisches Bergbaumuseum Bexbach and Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Three axes by Gunter Altenkirch, Gersheim-Rubenheim and Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Pick axe by Gunter Altenkirch, Gersheim-Rubenheim and Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Cigar box by Delf Slotta, Bischmisheim and Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Chalk by Gunter Altenkirch, Gersheim-Rubenheim and Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Leopold Sello by Reproduktion einer Porträtzeichnung Landesbildstelle Saarland im LPM and Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Plan of Leopold Sello's hunting lodge 1868 Plan of Leopold Sello's hunting lodge 1868 by Landesarchiv Saarbrücken and Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Small book by Karl Heinz Janson, Heusweiler and Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Advertisement by Horst Schmadel, Seingbouse (F) and Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Duhamel-Atlas mit 61 BlätternState Chancellery Saarland

German mining at the global exhibition in Chicago by Landesarchiv Saarbrücken and Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

World's Fair in Chicago in 1893 by Saarländische Universitätsund Landesbibliothek and Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

World's Fair in St. Louis in 1904 by Saarländische Universitätsund Landesbibliothek and Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Übersichtskarte des SB-Bergwerks-Distrikts 1904State Chancellery Saarland

Itzenplitz coal loading bay by Landesarchiv Saarbrücken and Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Prussian Mining Act 1911 Prussian Mining Act 1911 by Horst Schmadel, Seingbouse (F) and Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Brennender Berg (Stich) 1870State Chancellery Saarland

Burning Mountain by Horst Schmadel, Seingbouse (F) and Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Belegschaftsverzeichnis der Grube MittelbexbachState Chancellery Saarland

Greeting from the Kloppwald by Horst Schmadel, Seingbouse (F) and Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Model of a mountain festival by Klaus Hiery, Saarlouis and Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Document by Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Credits: All media

The story featured may in some cases have been created by an independent third party and may not always represent the views of the institutions, listed below, who have supplied the content.

State Chancellery Saarland

State Chancellery Saarland

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