Kupferschieferbergwerk Lange Wand

Useful Information

Location:	Uferstraße, 99768 Harztor. (51.5695397, 10.7872892)
Open:	closed. [2026]
Fee:	closed. [2026]
Classification:	Copper Mine
Light:	electric miners lamps provided
Dimension:
Guided tours:	D=45 min.
Photography:
Accessibility:
Bibliography:
Address:	Bergwerks- und Wanderführergruppe Ilfeld-Wiegersdorf e.V., Steinfeld 20, 99768 Harztor/OT Ilfeld, Tel: +49-36331-46286, Tel: +49-152-38464827 E-mail: Südharztouristik Ilfeld-Information, Ilgerstraße 51, 99768 Ilfeld, Tel: +49-36331-32033. 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

1698	evidence of copper mining.
1701	evidence of copper mining.
1760	mining ended because of groundwater.
1846	reopening of mining.
1860	mining finally ended.
World War II	Used as an air-raid shelter.
1970s	Bergsicherung Erfurt, based in Ilfeld, is commissioned to convert the mine into a nuclear bunker.
1982	construction halted, start of development as a show mine.
30-APR-1999	opened for visitors.
2006	Designated a national geotope.
2021	Show mine closed due to financial difficulties.

Geology

Thuringia's copper shale is a special geological structure that marks the boundary between two eras. After a long era of surface erosion, the bedrock was flooded by the sea at the beginning of the Zechstein period. The world's oceans penetrated the Germanic Basin and formed a huge inland sea with still water bays, in whose depths sludge settled. Under oxygen-deficient conditions, the decomposing organisms formed hydrogen sulphide, which, together with the high concentration of metal ions, formed sulphides containing lead, zinc, copper and silver. The accumulation of metals in the sediment was so intense that even animal and plant remains became mineralised. A spectacular fossil is the so-called copper herring (Palaeoniscus freieslebeni), a herring that fossilised in the Lange Wand due to copper enrichment. The copper shale has a relatively low copper content, but over time this has repeatedly been sufficient for economically viable mining.

The Lange Wand is located at the southern entrance to Ilfeld on the steep bank of the Bere. If you come from Nordhausen on the B4, you can see it clearly. Here, the bedrock rises gently towards the Harz Mountains and the copper slate outcrops. In other words, the copper slate was originally exposed at the earth's surface here and was easy to mine in open-cast mines. This applies to the entire area between Ilfeld and Rottleberrode, so there were several copper slate mines here: Pfaffenberg Harzungen, Galgenberg and Harzfeld in Neustadt, Keilwurf and others in Buchholz, the area around Herrmannsacker, and several areas in Stempeda such as Eichenberg and Nußhayn. In most areas, mining shifted underground after the accessible surface deposits had been mined. However, the only show mine is located here in the Lange Wand.

Description

The Lange Wand (long wall) is a 50 m long and 10 m high steep wall, which has been designated a geotope by the Thuringian State Mining Authority as a geological outcrop. The river has exposed and partially eroded the underlying rock, a bleached porphyry. Weathering has caused it to crumble, breaking it down into its mineralogical components. The result is coarse sand with a grain size of up to 3 mm. Above this lies surf debris, the Zechstein conglomerate. And above that is the 40 cm thick copper shale seam.

The shape and size of the copper shale is both its strength and its weakness. Since the seam is practically the same thickness for kilometres, there is no need to worry that it will disappear during mining and that long distances will have to be mined before it is found again. On the other hand, it is only 40 cm thick and the copper content is rather low, which means that a very large area has to be mined in order to obtain a good yield. In order to keep the spoil to a minimum, mining was kept at a very low level, with miners always crawling along the ground. In addition, large halls were at risk of collapsing, so they were either filled in or brought down in a controlled manner. The fundamental problem was always the same: the seam descends towards the centre of the basin, eventually reaching the water table, and the main problem is the mine water.

The copper and cobalt ores were smelted on site in Ilfeld, in two smelters. The older one was located near today’s paper mill, the second, the Johannishütte, where the Hotel Zur Tanne stands today.

After closing in the 19th century, copper ore was no longer mined here. Nevertheless, the tunnels were reactivated when the municipality of Ilfeld needed an air-raid shelter during the Second World War. The tunnel was secured accordingly. Once again, the mine was forgotten, but during the Cold War, its existence was remembered and plans were made to build a nuclear bunker. Bergsicherung Erfurt, based in Ilfeld, was commissioned to convert the mine into a nuclear bunker at the end of the 1970s, during the Cold War. They began work, but construction was halted in the early 1980s. The mine, which had already been partially secured, should have been blown up. It is thanks to the initiative of the head of the mining safety, Reiner Fehling, that the mine was instead converted into a show mine.

The show mine has been in existence since 1999, when it was handed over to the municipality. For a long time, it was run on a voluntary basis by the Bergwerks- und Wanderführergruppe Ilfeld-Wiegersdorf e.V. (Ilfeld-Wiegersdorf Mining and Hiking Guide Association). Unfortunately, they faced massive economic problems during the coronavirus pandemic, which led to the association being dissolved and the show mine being closed.