Bergbaumuseum Ratten

Useful Information

Location:	Kirchenviertel 156c, 8673 Ratten. (47.485162, 15.719351)
Open:	MAY to OCT Wed, Fri 16-18. [2025]
Fee:	Adults EUR 4, Children (0-14) EUR 3. Groups (10+): Adults EUR 3.50, Children (0-14) EUR 2.50. [2025]
Classification:	Lignite Mine
Light:	Incandescent
Dimension:	L=20 m, A=720 m asl.
Guided tours:	self guided
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	yes
Bibliography:	Johann Posch (2010): 150 Jahre Bergbau Ratten - St. Kathrein BOD/Kindle ebook amazon Johann Friesenbichler (2015): Industrie in Ratten
Address:	Bergbaumuseum Ratten, Kirchenviertel 156c, 8673 Ratten. Franz Mögle, Tel: +43-664-273-20-15. franz.moegle@outlook.com Christine Baumgartner, Tel: +43-676-533-64-34. offfice@baumgartner-holz.at
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

1909	Anton Schruf acquires the mining rights in St. Kathrein and names the mining field "Waldheimat" in honour of his friend Peter Rosegger.
1922-1923	Material cableway constructed.
1924-29	Friedensstollen dug.
1929	Start of lignite mining.
1960	Lignite mining ends.
2003	Bergbaumuseum Ratten opened to the public.

Geology

There is a lignite deposit on the south-eastern slope of the Fischbach Alps. Lignite is relatively young and originates from the deposition of peat in a bog, where acidic water and a lack of oxygen prevented the plant remains from decomposing, instead forming a thick layer of peat. Covered by other sediments, the peat was transformed into lignite by pressure and temperature, a process known as carbonisation. However, the process is not yet very advanced in lignite, which still contains a lot of water, sulphur, impurities and so on.

Description

The Bergbaumuseum Ratten (Ratten Mining Museum) has been set up in the remains of the Friedensstollen (Peace Tunnel), which was closed in 1960. It presents the history of mining, lamps, tools and machinery. There is even a mine railway to see, a Ruhrtaler diesel locomotive with crew cars, wood carts and coal trolleys, even if it cannot be driven. The same applies to the conveyor shaft and its conveyor cage with a trolley, but at least the shaft bell works. The timbering of the tunnel is explained in a particularly vivid manner, with the various techniques such as Polish door frame timbering, polygon timbering, or ring timbering. Various lamps are explained, which were not only a source of light but also a vital warning against mine gases. The open flame changed colour when combustible gases were present in the air and burned with the flame of the lamp, which in coal mines was usually combustible methane. These gases were very dangerous and could lead to fires and explosions. Of course, models, for example of the Ratten coal sorting plant, photographs and documents are also on display.

Mining in Ratten and St. Kathrein am Hauenstein lasted only 60 years, but during this time it was of great economic importance and shaped the lives of the inhabitants. According to legend, it all began in 1900 after a landslide caused by a storm with flooding. This exposed the coal, the existence of which was previously unknown. The Mürzzuschlag hotelier Anton Schruf acquired the mining rights in St. Kathrein in 1909 and began mining. He was apparently friends with the writer Peter Rosegger and named the mining field after his most famous book, Waldheimat, in his honour. The Friedensstollen tunnel was dug from 1924 onwards, mining began in 1929 and ended in 1960. The fact that mining was dangerous is evident from the fact that 14 miners lost their lives in the mine and 7 on the cable car during this relatively short period.

The lignite was mined at the end of the Friedensstollen, about 2.7 km from the mouth of the mine, loaded onto a narrow-gauge railway in front of the tunnel and transported to Birkfeld and Weiz. There was also a material cable car to Hönigsberg in the Mürztal valley, where the coal was loaded onto the railway. The tunnel was used for coal extraction, water drainage and transporting the miners. Only the first 20 metres of the tunnel are accessible and are used by the museum as an exhibition space. The rest was secured with a metre-thick sealing wall after mining ceased.

In coal mining, large quantities of coal are extracted, and this is even more true for lignite, which is less valuable. In order to be profitable, a very large quantity must be mined, which creates correspondingly large cavities. These are now in turn at high risk of collapse and are therefore blasted when a mining site has been exhausted. In other words, instead of waiting for a potentially catastrophic collapse, the cavities are brought down in a controlled manner. First, blast holes were drilled with pneumatic drills, then the iron compressed air pipes and the rails of the mine railway were dismantled. Two firing lines were connected to the dynamo-electric ignition machine. All these things can be admired in the museum.

The museum focuses on the 30 years of the Friedensstollen and thus on mining technology in the first half of the 20th century. However, that is only half the story. The presence of lignite here had been known for a long time, even if this deposit was unknown. A mine shaft already existed in St. Kathrein around 1810/1820. In 1874, around 200 miners are said to have been employed in the Ratten mine. And yet large-scale mining did not begin until 1920 by the Feistritztaler Bergbau- und Industrie AG. They also invested in the material cable car, which, after its completion in 1923, was the longest cable car in Austria with a length of approximately 12.7 km. It had 126 wooden supports. An exhibition of photographs by Mürzzuschlag photographer Franz Josef Böhm showing the construction of the cable car is on display in a special exhibition at the Rosegger Museum in Krieglach.

There is a lot to see in the area related to mining. For example, there is the Ratten-St. Kathrein mining trail, which is 15.3 km long and takes 5 hours to walk, making it a day trip. In addition to mining relics, viewpoints and the St. Kathrein mining memorial, the mining museum and the brass band museum are also located along the trail. And then there is the Kogelbergbau mining trail, which starts at the mining museum and, at 15 km and a walking time of 4.5 hours, should also not be underestimated.