The Hüttenstollen, also Straßberger Hüttenstollen, was the central drainage

adit An adit (from Latin ''aditus'', entrance) is an entrance to an underground mine which is horizontal or nearly horizontal, by which the mine can be entered, drained of water, ventilated, and minerals extracted at the lowest convenient level. Adits ...

in the Straßberg mining field and was also part of the Lower Harz Pond and Ditch System in the

Harz Mountains The Harz () is a highland area in northern Germany. It has the highest elevations for that region, and its rugged terrain extends across parts of Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Thuringia. The name ''Harz'' derives from the Middle High German ...

of Germany. The adit lies at a depth of 50 m and is 750 m long. The

pit water Pit water, mine water or mining water is water that collects in a mine and which has to be brought to the surface by water management methods in order to enable the mine to continue working. Origin Although all water that enters pit workings ori ...

was drained into the Selke. The drainage ditches were the Straßberger ''Flösse'' and the ''Stollgraben''.

History

The construction of a deep adit had begun before 1696. The aim was to provide ventilation for the pits at Straßberg: the ''Segen Gottes'', ''Hilfe Gottes'', ''Gott hilft gewiß'' and '' Vertrau auf Gott'' (later, the Glasebach Pit). Georg Christoph von Utterodt, who came from

Ilmenau Ilmenau () is a town in Thuringia, central Germany. It is the largest town within the Ilm district with a population of 38,600, while the district capital is Arnstadt. Ilmenau is located approximately south of Erfurt and north of Nuremberg w ...

, took over the running of the Straßberg mines in 1701. In the years that followed the adit was driven out from the Selke valley. Under Christian Zacharias Koch the adit, which had since been named the Hüttenstollen was further extended in 1720. By linking it to the main adit (''Hauptstollen'') south of Straßberg, the Hüttenstollen was expanded to become the central drainage adit for the Straßberg pits of ''Getreuer Bergmann'' (formerly ''Gott hilft gewiß''), ''Glückauf'' (formerly ''Hilfe Gottes'') and ''Zum Schwarzen Hirsch''. The pits are holed through to one another. A final extension was carried out from 1848-1856 to the ''Kreuz'' Pit. In 1876 the adit was abandoned.

Richtschacht

The Straßberg mines were bought in 1856 by the ''Straßberg-Haynsche'' company. The Richtschacht was started up in 1858 as a 180 m long mineshaft with an underground wheelhouse (''Radstube'') and was linked to the Hüttenstollen. From its foot, at a depth of 80 m, it was intended to handle the water management and surveying of deeper-lying ores up to a depth of 210 m. The driving water for the unexpectedly large quantities of water from old workings was insufficient; in addition only

quartz Quartz is a hard, crystalline mineral composed of silica (silicon dioxide). The atoms are linked in a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon-oxygen tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tetrahedra, giving an overall chemical form ...

calcite Calcite is a Carbonate minerals, carbonate mineral and the most stable Polymorphism (materials science), polymorph of calcium carbonate (CaCO3). It is a very common mineral, particularly as a component of limestone. Calcite defines hardness 3 on ...

and narrow veins with small amounts of

galena Galena, also called lead glance, is the natural mineral form of lead(II) sulfide (PbS). It is the most important ore of lead and an important source of silver. Galena is one of the most abundant and widely distributed sulfide minerals. It cryst ...

were found. Mining ceased after the workings were flooded.

Present condition

The adit lost its function when the Straßberg pits closed and has collapsed in places. The Richtschacht was ''verbühnt'' and collapsed (''verstürzt''); neither winch (''Hornstatt'') nor wheelhouse (''Radstube'') has survived. The walled mouth of the ''Hüttenstollen'' on the Selke is still visible and, like the site of the ''Richtschacht'', is marked with a mining information board.

Sources

* Wilfried Ließmann: ''Historischer Bergbau im Harz.'' 3. Auflage, Springer, Berlin 1997,
Das Unterharzer Teich- und Grabensystem

Straßberg / Harz - Bergbautannen - Strassberg
* Karl-Heinz Krause, Entwicklung und gegenwärtige Funktion von Anlagen der historischen bergbaulichen Wasserwirtschaft im Unterharz; in: ''Wilfried Strenz - Arbeitskreis Historische Geographie der Geographischen Gesellschaft der DDR, Historisch-geographische Forschungen in der DDR'
Auszug

History

Richtschacht

Present condition

Sources

See also