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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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The mines were revived in the early eighteenth century, following the discovery at the Rauenthal of ore used for the production of blue cobalt. This in turn led to the construction of a blue dye factory near the head of the Chrétien mine and the gradual reopening of all the principal silver mines. Thus, a new era began and heralded a certain degree of success between 1725 and 1750.
The Dukes of Deux-Ponts, who inherited the moribund Ribeaupierre mines, carried them through to the French Revolution. But far from attaining the prosperity enjoyed two centuries earlier, this time the workforce required for the exploitation of the mines was wildly erratic in number (at best a few hundred). Nevertheless, its dramatic ability to unearth glittering treasures was still very much alive, as the famous mineralogist A.G. Monnet recounted. The then director of smelting works, Chrétien Frédéric Schreiber, deserves to be remembered as one of the most prominent personalities in the history of metallurgy.
While the Altenberg miners had to resign themselves to scraping up the crumbs left by their predecessors, at the Neuenberg, workers were vigorously digging their shaft networks deep into the Saint-Jean mine. At the end of the century, a seam rich in argentiferous lead was discovered at the Nothilf mine and was almost the sole reason for its popularity at the beginning of the nineteenth century.
During the French Revolution, the silver mines were no longer of primary importance. Instead, interest turned towards the extraction of coal at Hury, near Sainte-Croix-aux-Mines.
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Click on the picture for a larger image
Erythrine
Sainte-Marie-Aux-Mines (La treille)
11 mm |
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The history of the mines at Sainte-Marie in the nineteenth century, as with all mines in the Vosges that contained non-ferrous metals, was plagued by inefficient management, embezzlement of capital and a constant change in licence ownership.
A renowned engineer, named Combes, tried to save exploitation in the Head mines (formerly Nothilf) during the 1870's, but his company was entangled in too many financial difficulties.
In 1897, the 'Markircher Berg und Huttenverein' company was founded and invested huge amounts of money into equipment and personnel. However, because they had not consulted the archives, they underestimated the sheer scale of work carried out previously, and so failed to realise that the miners had already emptied the mines at depths of several hundred metres. This lack of vital information led to the company's bankruptcy in 1905. In 1907, the drilling of the final gallery at Sainte-croix-aux-Mines (Wilhelmstollen) was stopped only inches from breaking into the old seam at Musloch.
Finally, in 1932, a company reopened the Gabe-Gottes mine and its drainage gallery (Tiefstollen), which became the only mine in the world from which native arsenic could be extracted for the manufacture of chemical products. Although it also produced a certain quantity of collection pieces, the business was unprofitable and mining ceased in May 1940. |
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| Last update : 04.01.2002 |
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