Bergbaumuseum Deuben

Useful Information

Location:	Schulstraße 65, 06682 Teuchern-Deuben. (51.114370, 12.074870)
Open:	23-JUN to 10-SEP Tue, Wed, Thu 10-14. [2026]
Fee:	Adults EUR 6, Children (7-18) EUR 3, Children (0-6) free, Students (-27) EUR 3, Seniors (65+) EUR 3, Disabled EUR 3, Families (2-*) EUR 15. [2026]
Classification:	Lignite Mine Replica Underground Mine
Light:	Electric Light
Dimension:
Guided tours:	self guided
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:
Address:	Bergbaumuseum Deuben, Schulstraße 65, 06682 Teuchern-Deuben, Tel: +49-34441-33237. 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

1991	The Zeitz-Weißenfelser Braunkohlenrevier Local History Association is converting the former heritage display room at the Deuben lignite plant into a mining museum.
2003	The museum is moving to the former school in Deuben.

Geology

The lignites of Germany were formed during the Tertiary, between 44 and 17 Million years ago. The climate in this period was subtropical to tropical all around the world, even in northern Germany, which allowed gigantic growth of plants. Europe was covered in wide areas by rainforest. This was especially the case for the flat basin in the area where today is Niedersachsen, Brandenburg and Poland. In this area extensive wetlands and swamps existed, which were flooded periodically by the North Sea. This sedimentation basin was bounded by the Bohemian Massif to the south and the Scandinavian Shield to the north.

For the formation of massive layers of peat, which were later transformed into lignite, not only the amount of plant material is important. It is also necessary that the amount of the decay is very low. This is a result of water covering the swamps and stopping the supply of oxygene, and the interception of decay by the flooding with sea water. Once the plants were covered by sand or silt layeres, the decay was stopped completely.

The next step in the process is called coalification, which means the slow vanishing of hydrocarbons, until only pure carbons remain. This process is started and powered by high pressure and temperature caused by huge layers of rock on top of the former peat. But here the process has not gone very far. Time was too short, and the coverage too thin. That why this coal is called lignite and has many remains of its origins as plants. It has a high amount of water, solid material (ashes), sulfur, and various hydrocarbons. This causes several bad qualities of the lignite, especially the environmental pollution and the low caloric value.

Description

Bergbaumuseum Deuben (Deuben Mining Museum) is dedicated to the mining of lignite, specifically in the Zeitz-Weißenfels lignite mining area. Here in the Central German lignite mining area, lignite was mined on a large scale via opencast mining and converted into electricity directly at the Deuben industrial power station. Lignite was the only energy source available in the GDR. During the GDR era, this mining was operated by the state-owned enterprise VEB Braunkohlenkombinat Bitterfeld. This was privatised and, following several name changes, eventually became MIBRAG GmbH. Lignite mining is set to continue until 20

However, lignite mining has a very long history. It began in the early 19th century, but became particularly important with the Industrial Revolution. The railway served as both a means of transport and a customer. The museum seeks to explore this history through historical documents, photographs and historical maps featuring countless open casts. Models, diagrams and artefacts illustrate the geological conditions and the development of mining methods. Small-scale open-cast mining equipment and models of the mining areas demonstrate the various extraction methods. The processing of coal in a briquette factory, which has since closed, is another theme. And finally, there is the daily life of the people in the mining area – the miners, their families, but also the other residents who lost their homes due to the relocation of the opencast mine. As early as the 1930s, the village of Gaumnitz was destroyed by mining. Furniture and everyday items from days gone by, and even a former classroom, are on display.

However, the museum’s most extraordinary exhibit is a faithful replica of an underground mining tunnel, accessible to visitors, located in the museum’s basement. In lignite mining, underground extraction is extremely rare, and the opportunity to walk through such a tunnel – even if it is a replica – is exceptionally rare. Open-cast mining required the removal of a substantial overburden layer, which was only feasible using heavy machinery. Underground mining was therefore typical of early lignite extraction and was later discontinued.

The museum presents the history of Deuben, beginning with prehistoric and early historical finds. Heinrich August von Helldorff (1794–1862), the hero of the Napoleonic Wars of Liberation who was born in Nödlitz, is honoured.