The Hüttenstollen, also Straßberger Hüttenstollen, was the central drainage adit

Adit

An adit is an entrance to an underground mine which is horizontal or nearly horizontal, by which the mine can be entered, drained of water, and ventilated.-Construction:...

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

Lower Harz Pond and Ditch System

Within the Lower Harz region are still many traces of the historical water management facilities used by the mining industry. In addition to water-carrying ditches and ponds, there are also long-abandoned ditches and dry pond beds...

 in the Harz Mountains of Germany. The adit lies at a depth of 50 m and is 750 m long. The pit water was drained into the Selke

Selke (river)

The Selke is a right tributary of the River Bode that rises in the Harz Mountains of central Germany and runs through the northeastern Harz Foreland in the state of Saxony-Anhalt...

. 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

Glasebach Pit

The Glasebach Pit is a mining museum and former pit in the Harz fluorspar mining area near Straßberg in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. It is run by the East Harz Mining Society...

). Georg Christoph von Utterodt, who came from Ilmenau

Ilmenau

Ilmenau is a town located in the district of Ilm-Kreis, Thuringia, Germany.Ilmenau is situated in the valley of the Ilm river, at an altitude of 431 metres above sea level, and is the biggest town in Ilm-Kreis district, with 6,200 students studying at the Technische Universität Ilmenau. The...

, took over the running of the Straßberg mines in 1701. In the years that followed the adit was driven out from the Selke

Selke

-People:*Frank J. Selke, Canadian hockey manager*Margrit Selke, Agriculturist*Walter Selke, German physicist-Awards:*Frank J. Selke Trophy *Frank J. Selke Memorial Trophy -Other uses:...

 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

Quartz is the second-most-abundant mineral in the Earth's continental crust, after feldspar. It is made up of a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon–oxygen tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tetrahedra, giving an overall formula SiO2. There are many different varieties of quartz,...

, calcite

Calcite

Calcite is a carbonate mineral and the most stable polymorph of calcium carbonate . The other polymorphs are the minerals aragonite and vaterite. Aragonite will change to calcite at 380-470°C, and vaterite is even less stable.-Properties:...

 and narrow veins with small amounts of galena

Galena

Galena is the natural mineral form of lead sulfide. It is the most important lead ore mineral.Galena is one of the most abundant and widely distributed sulfide minerals. It crystallizes in the cubic crystal system often showing octahedral forms...

 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 placed. The Richtschacht was verbühnt and dumped (verstürzt), neither winch (Hornstatt) nor wheelhouse (Radstube) have 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

Dennert Fir Tree

The Dennert Fir Tree is a signboard that is used throughout the Harz mountains in Germany to provide information about mining and other points of interest in the area. The signboards mark locations, traces and monuments to mining, to the Upper Harz Water Regale, a medieval water management system,...

.

Sources

• Wilfried Ließmann: Historischer Bergbau im Harz. 3. Auflage, Springer, Berlin 1997, ISBN 978-3-540-31327-4
• 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