19-Laugher-Stollen

The 19-Lachter-Stollen was one of the most important facilities of the old Upper Harz silver mining. It was a water solution tunnel that was used to drain water from higher pits. For centuries he made the operation of many mines in the Zellerfelder and Clausthaler Revier possible. It began in 1551. It was not until 1690, after laborious work alone, that he had reached his goal with mallets and iron with a length of 8.8 km.

The route is about 500m, which has been made accessible again for the visitor. Various tunnel extensions in iron, wood and masonry can be seen. Further back, the tunnel stands in solid greywacke. At all times, ores were opened up and mined from the tunnel. In 1845, the “Ernst-August” shaft was drilled from the 261m deep shaft. With it, an outstanding example of a so-called blind shaft has been preserved. From a steel bridge, the visitor can follow a swarm of water on his way into the yawning depth.

It took the miners 15 years to reach the sole of the deepest water solution tunnel in the Harz, the “Ernst-August-Stollen”. It last experienced its last breakthrough from here in 1864 and was considered the largest tunnel structure in the world at that time with a length of 32.7 km. The trail leads past an underground bike bar, where the impressive remains of a 100-year-old sweeping wheel of 9m diameter and 2m width are still present.

The path continues down a staircase until the Kunstradstube is reached at a depth of 100m below the earth’s surface, which was later converted into a turbine and compressor room. Here you can visit the machine ensemble from 1914, which is unique in the Harz, in function. On the way back, the visitor then visits the new engine room with the electric conveyor system installed in 1914. It was in operation until the plant was decommissioned in 1924.

With the 19-Lachter-Stollen (water solution), the 19-Lachter-Adolph-Stollen (transport) and the Ernst-August mine, the visitor mine gives a unique impression of three mining epochs of the Upper Harz mining industry with their associated machines and thus over a period of 1551 – 1924.
​

Visitor mine 19-Lachter-Stollen
In the sun shine 18
38709 Wildemann
​
Tel.: 0 53 23 / 66 28
​
Internet: www.19-lachter-stollen.de

Guided tours: May – October: 11:00, 14:00 and 15:30 daily (except Mondays), other months see HP.