Siebengebirge - Geowanderung: Einsiedlertal

In earlier centuries, with evidence in Bad Honnef dating back to 1753, ores were mined in the Siebengebirge using open-cast mining methods. This involved digging pits and shafts that were several meters deep. Later, shafts were dug that led vertically into the earth and were accessed via ladders. Adits branched off from these shafts and led underground, making drainage and ventilation necessary. Copper, lead, zinc and iron ores were mined in the Siebengebirge, and over 70 ore mines can be found in Bad Honnef alone. Mining sites were: Einsiedlertal, Schmelztal, Brüngsberg and near the Servatius Chapel. Iron wedges were used to drive cracks into the walls and break the ore, which was then transported to the surface in wheelbarrows or small wagons. The ore chunks were separated from impurities in settling washes and crushed by hand in picks to get at the ore-bearing rock. The mine in Einsiedlertal, first called “St. Theresia” and later “Glückliche Elise”, was in operation from 1753 to 1815 and from 1847 to 1868. The ore was extracted in several tunnels, up to 38 meters deep, crushed in a punching plant and processed directly on site with the help of a metal smelter.