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| A brief history of the mines at Sainte-Marie-Aux-Mines |
by Pierre FLUCK
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The photographs illustrating this article come from the book of Jean-Luc HOHL : MINERAUX ET MINES DU MASSIF VOSGIEN
published in the "Editions du Rhin" and are reproduced here with the authorization of the author
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Even though there has been a major thoroughfare through the Val de Lièpvre (the Lièpvre Valley) since Celtic times, there is no evidence to suggest that mining in the region has similarly ancient origins. In fact, it wasn't until the 10th century that mining began, coinciding, undoubtedly, with the expansion of the monastery at Echery which, according to the chronicle of Richer de Senones in 1265, was founded by a monk named Blidulphe around the year 938. A veritable exegesis of these ancient documents conducted by Dagermann in 1895 put forward the highly probable theory that it was the monks themselves who organized and led the first exploitation of the mines. The minerals were then given as payment to the recently-arrived lords of Echery.
From an archaeological point of view, when travelling along the heights of the Altenberg (one of the three major mining districts of Sainte Marie), one is struck by the multitude of holes made by the collapse of old mine shafts that dot the course of the mining seam in a fashion that resembles rosary beads. Several of these holes were dated in 1987 by means of unearthing and testing buried charcoal using the carbon-14 method. The crosschecks of these datings go from 895 to 980 with the median date being 937.
However, there are very few written accounts of the exploitation of the mines during the Middle Ages, and the data that exists is inconclusive and fragmented. Therefore, archaeology is our only means of navigation through an ocean of uncertainty and has not only given us old mine shafts, but also perfectly rendered subterranean galleries, ore extraction excavations, and mining banks with their smelting works and hydraulic mechanisms (such as raised canals and machinery). All of this can be found at Altenberg, a district known for its argentiferous lead-filled mining seams.
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Click on the picture for a larger image
The Cosmographie book
from Sébastien Munster - édition latine de 1550, bibliothèque du grand séminaire de Strasbourg.
On y voit le prospecteur à la baguette de sourcier (Virgula divina), les tourneurs de treuil (Haspeler), le mineur au front de taille (Haüwer), le décombreur (Saüberer). En bas à gauche, un mineur brise de gros blocs sous les yeux du chef mineur. |
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Since 1987, the number of carbon datings have increased considerably and reveal that there was a golden age around the 11th and 12th centuries and an apparent technological revolution at the turn of the 14th century. It was only after the recession during the 14th century that mining seems to have retreated into obscurity.
Following the death of the Echery family line in 1381, the Dukes of Lorraine and the Ribeaupierre family signed a treaty in 1399 that divided the valley between the two families. This sharing of power would thereafter dominate the course of the modern history of mining in the region.
The first written document on the revival of mining heralded the so-called renaissance period. This document was an accord signed in 1486 between Lord Guillaume Ribeaupierre and the Archduke Sigismond of Austria, establishing the conditions for the sharing of profits derived from the exploitation of all metals found within the confines of Ribeaupierre territories. It is worth noting that their neighbours, the Dukes of Lorraine, had themselves found seams rich in minerals and that this accord of 1486 was first and foremost a pledge on the part of the Archduke to protect the Ribeaupierre half of the valley in the event of the avaricious Dukes of Lorraine crossing the Lièpvrette river frontier. |
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| Last update : 06.19.2007 |
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