The heritage: Mining in Saarland - Part II

The power of faith, Light and darkness, Expansion

By State Chancellery Saarland

Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes, Öffentlichkeitsarbeit

POWER OF FAITH by Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

The power of faith

The special working conditions under ground encouraged the emergence of fervent religiosity among the miners right from the outset. Furthermore, a strong sectarian tension had existed between the predominately ruralcatholic working population and the Prussian-protestant mine owners in the Saar coalfield since the 19th century. This conflict erupted in a particularly intensive manner after the „culture war“ between the State and the Church on the occasion of the Marian apparitions in the North Saarland miners‘ parish of Marpingen. With St. Barbara fraternities and miners‘ communities, the first self-organisation bodies of the Saarland mining workers were of a confessional-catholic nature.

Guard of honour for the dead comrades: Miners at the funeral for the victims of the disaster of Luisenthal, 10 February 1962 Guard of honour for the dead comrades: Miners at the funeral for the victims of the disaster of Luisenthal, 10 February 1962 by Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Marpingen miners in front of the sleeping quarters in Altenwald (1880) by Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

The Madonna of Marpingen on a commemorative card by Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Title of the prayer book for miners and smelting workers by Priest Hansen, the founder of the first Barbara fraternity in Saarland by Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Saint Barbara by Guido Wolff, Saarbrücken and Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Saint Barbara by Delf Slotta, Bischmisheim and Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Saint Barbara by Guido Wolff, Saarbrücken and Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Saint Barbara by Delf Slotta, Bischmisheim and Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Barbara figure at Reden pit by RAG Bildarchiv, Saarbücken and Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Église de Marpingen by Stiftung Marpinger Kulturbesitz and Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Worship of the place of grace in Härtelwald by Stiftung Marpinger Kulturbesitz and Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Shaft IV of Heinitz pit (1880) by Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Marpingen Mary chapel by IndustrieKultur Saar GmbH, Göttelborn and Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Härtelwald shrine to Mary by IndustrieKultur Saar GmbH, Göttelborn and Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

St. Mauritius, Tholey by IndustrieKultur Saar GmbH, Göttelborn and Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Ludwigskirche in Saarbrücken by IndustrieKultur Saar GmbH, Göttelborn and Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Catholic prayer room by Delf Slotta, Bischmisheim and Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

St. Johannes parish church in Altenkessel by Landesbildstelle Saarland im LPM and Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

LIGHT AND DARKNESS by Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Light and darkness

In pre-industrial times without artificial light, people‘s lives were still very heavily influenced by the natural, so to speak, cosmic alternation of light and dark. The dark had a mystical quality; it was associated with death, spirits or hell. The unearthly and unnameable lurked in the dark. It is not only for this reason that many myths and legends were associated with the gloom of mining. The absolute darkness remained a central experience of the miners in the world under ground into the turn of the 20th century. Great experience and particular skills were required in order to be able to move about and work reasonably safely in the light of the mining lamps. Unaccustomed mindfulness towards things and people became not least for this reason one of the miners‘ basic virtues.

Portal of Heinitz tunnel at the celebration of the hundred-year anniversary of the pit in 1947 by Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Mine shafts of Camphausen pit at night, second day of Christmas in 1962 by Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Miner at work, 1970s by Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Ignition of the "last" pit lamp for the Mettenschicht (old German mining custom) on 30 June 2012 in Ensdorf by Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Open shells and "frogs" (1820-1900) Open shells and "frogs" (1820-1900) by Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Karbidoder acetylene lamps (1900-1930), petrol lamps (1850-1960), bucket lamps (1945-1950) Karbidoder acetylene lamps (1900-1930), petrol lamps (1850-1960), bucket lamps (1945-1950) by Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Electric lamps (since 1950) Electric lamps (since 1950) by Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Lumen meter by Guido Wolff, Saarbrücken and Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Pit lamp rack by RAG, Saarbrücken and Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Prussian troops storm the Spicherer heights. Detail of a painting by the court painter Anton von Werner by Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Oldest preserved photograph of the Winterberg monument inaugurated in August 1874 by Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Parade on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the battle of Spichern by Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Aircraft with crew on the airfield of Saarbrücken-St. Arnual during the First World War by Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

An official gallery was set up in front of the mining headquarters in Saarbrücken for the visit of emperor Wilhelm on 14 May 1904. by Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

The upper station street in Saarbrücken with the building of the mining headquarters that had come to the end of the road, 1890s by Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Workers and officers in front of the Bildstock tunnel which was built between 1848 and 1852 and was reopened in 1897 by Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Title page of the "Illustrierte Zeitung" newspaper from 1899 with the cover picture: "Shift change at the Neunkirchen ironworks" by Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

View over the Saar River from St. Johanner shore towards Winterberg. Coal boats with towing masts in the foreground, 1892 by Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Carl Ferdinand Freiherr von Stumm-Halberg (1836-1901), an industrial magnate and politician, was an important figure in Saarland industrialisation by Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Portraits of supervisors and executives of the Dechen mine from a photograph album of the 1880s by Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Expansion by Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Expansion

Under Prussian and Bavarian administration, the coal and steel industry around the Saar grew into one of Germany‘s leading economic forces during the second half of the 19th century. By opening up the bituminous coal resources which were required for the blast furnace process, the Saarland iron and steel industry was also able to develop on a European scale. The basic prerequisites were provided by the Saar Coal Canal and extension of the railway network since the 1850‘s. It not only provided new sales markets and accelerated demographic growth. The railway and the railway-based mines of Dechen, Heinitz, Dudweiler or Reden built on its routes catapulted the Saarland industrial area to a greater degree economically, politically and socially into the future.

Portrait of a foreman from an album which was presented to the mine foreman at Dechen pit on the occasion of his retirement, from the 1880s by Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Titelblatt der lithographierten Handschrift ›Die Bau-Anlagen der Rhein-Nahe-Eisenbahn‹, 1859State Chancellery Saarland

Buch Rhein-Nahe-EisenbahnState Chancellery Saarland

"Proof of the coal and coke quantities dispatched by Messrs Lamarche and Schwarz in Saarbrücken from the Saarbrücken coal pits to France, Switzerland, Southern Germany and Prussia in 1860" by Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Panoramic view of Saarbrücken by Landesarchiv Saarbrücken and Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Sulzbach-Altenwald railway pit by Delf Slotta, Bischmisheim and Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Screening system by Historisches Museum Saar and Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Twin hoisting machine by Historisches Museum Saar and Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Joseph shaft by Landesarchiv Saarbrücken and Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Dechen shafts by Landesarchiv Saarbrücken and Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Railway shafts by Landesarchiv Saarbrücken and Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Reden pit by Landesarchiv Saarbrücken and Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Viktoria shaft by Landesarchiv Saarbrücken and Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Albert shaft by Landesarchiv Saarbrücken and Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Cross pit shafts by Landesarchiv Saarbrücken and Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Friedrichsthal railway shaft by Landesarchiv Saarbrücken and Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Itzenplitz shaft by Landesarchiv Saarbrücken and Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Mellin shaft by Landesarchiv Saarbrücken and Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Saarbrücken port by Landesarchiv Saarbrücken and Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Shaft IV in Heinitz by Landesarchiv Saarbrücken and Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Griesborn railway shaft by Landesarchiv Saarbrücken and Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Camphausen shaft by Landesarchiv Saarbrücken and Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Scalley shaft by Landesarchiv Saarbrücken and Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Saarbrücken Miner's Calendar 1873 Saarbrücken Miner's Calendar 1873 by Delf Slotta, Bischmisheim and Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Royal Prussian mining headquarters by Landesarchiv Saarbrücken and Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Prussian-French treaty 1861 Prussian-French treaty 1861 by Geheimes Staatsarchiv Berlin and Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Übersichtskarte Grube Reden, LandkarteState Chancellery Saarland

Plan for expanding the water carriageways and inland transport routes 1862 by Landesarchiv Saarbrücken and Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Saar coal ship model by Erich Clemens, Kleinblittersdorf and Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Clothes hooks by Historisches Museum Saar and Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

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

Prussian miners' pipe by Delf Slotta, Bischmisheim and Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Foto Grube DilsburgState Chancellery Saarland

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

Mining and metallurgy calendar 1888 Mining and metallurgy calendar 1888 by Delf Slotta, Bischmisheim and Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

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

Dilsburg pit by Karl Heinz Janson, Heusweiler and Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Velsen pit table by Landesarchiv Saarbrücken and Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

Visit of Prince Chun Visit of Prince Chun by Landesarchiv Saarbrücken and Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

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

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

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

Newspaper article on miners killed in action by Horst Schmadel, Seingbouse (F) and Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes Open GalleryState Chancellery Saarland

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

Credits: All media

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State Chancellery Saarland

State Chancellery Saarland

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