Iron Ore Mine B.
The idyllic, yet neglected, former buildings of this abandoned iron ore mine, including the surface buildings such as the shaft hall, the hoisting machine building, the colliery, the pithead baths as well as workshops and a guardhouse, are still reminiscent of the hard work of ore mining. In 1970 work was stopped here, the winding tower torn down and the winding machine scrapped.
The new owner at the time converted the building into a company holiday home, the hoisting machine building became a sports hall, the colliery became the ward house and the guard was converted into a reception. The
site was also expanded to include a large restaurant. With the German reunification in 1990 came the end, since then a piece of history has fallen into disrepair. The history of the mining of iron ore in the region is documented as early as the Middle Ages, with mining initially taking the form of open-cast mining in so-called "Pingen". After its heyday in the 16th century, the production was continued with varying intensity until 1925, but then it was halted completely. In the 1930s, however, the region resumed mining. Iron ore mining in this ore mine began again in 1936 - in particular the needs of the armaments industry were met.
From 1937 to 1940, an 8,650 meter long cable car was built from shaft I (which today's entrance to a show mine), with which the iron ore was transported to a nearby city, where it was loaded onto railway cars.
After the end of the Second World War, the mine was initially closed. In 1946, however, production was resumed, and the mine was nationalized. For the processing of the ore, the city Salzgitter was now in West Germany and so was no longer an option as the processing location. So a low-shaft furnace was built about 90 kilometers away that was specially designed for the iron ore from this mine.
In 1958/1959 the cable car was modernized. The old wooden supports were replaced with steel supports during ongoing operations. New protective nets replaced the old wooden road protection bridges.
After the GDR was able to obtain better iron ore from the Soviet Union, it was no longer worthwhile to continue operating the ore mine and operations were stopped on April 30, 1970. The above-ground operating facilities, e.g. the imposing colliery house, were initially used as a holiday property. The cable car was dismantled and scrapped in 1971/1972.
During the GDR era, plans were made to convert the mine into a show mine. In 1984 the first floor of the mine was prepared again so that the plans could be realized. The exhibition mine was opened on October 7, 1989, the 40th anniversary of the republic, the national holiday of the GDR.
Visited: December 31, 2018
Location: Undisclosed, Germany
Status: Abandoned
