Andreas-Gegentrum-Stolln

Useful Information

Location:	09477 Jöhstadt. From Chemnitz B95 to Annaberg-Buchholz, A72 exit 10 Zwickau West, B93 to Schneeberg 16 km, B161, B101 to Annaberg-Buchholz. B95 towards Oberwiesenthal, after 3 km at Morgensonne restaurant left to Königswalde, then to Jöhstadt. Between Schmalzgrube and Steinbach in the Preßnitz valley. From the car park on the road to Grumbach 1.2 km on foot. Stop for the Preßnitz Valley railway. (50.5459718, 13.1366197)
Open:	Closed. [2024]
Fee:	Closed. [2024]
Classification:	Iron Mine Silver Mine Cobalt Mine
Light:	Incandescent Electric Light System
Dimension:
Guided tours:
Photography:
Accessibility:
Bibliography:
Address:	Verein Altbergbau Andreas-Gegentrum-Stolln im Preßnitztal, e.V, Hintere Gemeindegasse 209 C, 09477 Jöhstadt, Tel: +49-37343-7941. E-mail:
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

1748	start of mining.
1792	Pochwerk built for ore processing.
1843	end of mining.
1950	SDAG Wismut investigates for uranium without success.
1984	Mining enthusiasts from Steinbach and Jöhstadt reopen the mine tunnel to preserve it.
1997	opened as a show mine.
1998	Terminus of the Preßnitz Valley railway "Andreas-Gegentrum-Stolln" opened.
17-AUG-2000	Pressnitz Valley Railway extended, "Andreas-Gegentrum-Stolln" is no longer the terminus.
2021	show mine closed.

Geology

During the mining process, Rotgültigerz (reddish iron ore), cobalt and silver-bearing ores were found. From 1749 to 1841, 140 kg of silver and 720 kg of cobalt were mined. The deposit is a polymetallic gangue ore deposit typical for the Erzgebirge, meaning that a variety of ores were extracted. Iron, silver and cobalt were the economically most important ones.

Description

The Andreas-Gegentrum-Stolln (Andreas Gegentrum gallery) is located on the banks of the Preßnitz river, between Steinbach and Schmalzgrube. The mine field is also called "Andreas Gegentrum". Silver and cobalt were mined in the Andreas Gegentrum gallery in the 18th and 19th centuries. The name is explained by the fact that the Grube St. Andreas (St Andreas mine), where ore was found around 1700, was on the opposite side of the valley. In the mining language of the Erzgebirge, Trum means ore vein, so the Gegentrum is the opposite ore vein. The general idea is that valleys often cut through straight veins and therefore the same vein is often found on opposite sides of the valley. So if you extended a vein to the opposite side of the valley, you have a good chance of finding ore there too.

Mining in the Andreas-Gegentrum-Stolln was successful after just 30 m, but no further finds were made. In 1756, after only eight years, mining was discontinued. Subsequent attempts from 1766 to 1771 were unsuccessful. From 1780, a Kunstschacht (shaft) was sunk on the "Andreas-Hoffnunger-Morgengang" and silver ore and cobalt were discovered at a depth of 10 metres. Mining continued until 1843, and in 1792, a Pochwerk (stamp mill) was built for initial processing. A water wheel 5.70 m in diameter was built to drive the stamp mill and to pump the water from the deeper parts of the mine. A ditch diverted water from the Pressnitz to drive the waterwheel. This intensive mining phase ended in 1843 after no new ore had been discovered since 1838. During this period, a total of 140 kg of silver and 1445 hundredweights of cobalt were mined. Attempts to reactivate the mine between 1863 and 1873 were unsuccessful, as were investigations by SDAG Wismut after the Second World War.

The mine was converted into a show mine by an association in the 1990s and has been looked after by this association ever since. The Preßnitz Valley is popular with hikers. The three villages of Schmalzgrube, Grumbach and Steinbach are all around 1.5 km away, and there are car parks at all three, and you can then walk to the mine. There is also a car park at the junction of the road to Grumbach, because you have to take a diversion through the forest, it is about 1.2 km to the mine. Since the historic Preßnitztalbahn (Preßnitz Valley Railway) has set up a stop here, the show mine even has its own railway connection. The railway is a historic train with a steam locomotive that runs through the valley for tourists at weekends during summer and has stops at all the sights. The final stops are Jöhstadt and Steinbach. The association that operates the steam train has continuously expanded the railway network since 1991. In 1998, the terminus was set up at the show mine, which meant that all passengers actually had to get off here. From 2000, the line was extended and the show mine became a normal stop. As the mine is best reached by train, it was open on the days the railway ran.

The area around the adit consists of various mining-historical buildings and ruins, including the stamp mill. At weekends and on public holidays, drinks and food were often offered at the visitor's viewing platform. The club members were happy to talk about their Andreas-Gegentrum-Stolln. The show mine was still open regularly at weekends before the pandemic.

Unfortunately, it is not so easy to determine the current state of the mine. Obviously, the coronavirus regulations and the massive decline in tourism have hit this mine particularly hard. We do not know whether this was the only reason, but it is also possible that there has been a decline in active members, as many associations are experiencing such problems these days. In any case, the mine only seems open to groups by appointment. Another bad sign is that the website has disappeared and the domain has been released. The last thing you could read there was: "For technical reasons the visitor mine remains CLOSED". No reason is given, but "technical reasons" are usually a euphemism for safety problems, for example, the risk of collapse, and in this case access would no longer possible. Nevertheless, individual events seem to have been organized since then, so we rather suspect that the association is not able to offer guided tours, but the mine is still accessible.

Although the mine is closed, this place still has two things to offer. Firstly, there are the mine areas historical mining facilities, which are signposted with information boards. There is also a mining heritage trail that starts in Grumbach, and the site is one of the 15 stops.