Wettelrode (dpa/sa) – After water ingress in the Wettelrode visitor mine, the adventure center is starting up again. “The sheaves of the headframe on the Röhrigschacht are turning again,” said a statement from the city of Sangerhausen on Wednesday. From August 10th, the mining museum and show mine Röhrigschacht will be open again regularly from Wednesday to Sunday.
“The natural groundwater reservoir in the mine entered the tunnel at the end of February through a washed-out hole, a so-called karst quarry. This caused the temporary flooding,” said tour guide Thomas Wäsche. The water had risen slowly, there was no danger to people. Now the problem is fixed
Especially on hot days, the museum hopes for guests at a constantly pleasant temperature of 14 degrees underground. “Around 25,000 people visit the mining museum in Wettelrode every year, except during the pandemic years,” said Wäsche.
The first miners began digging for copper ore in the Mansfeld region around 800 years ago. The plant in Wettelrode was operated between 1871 and 1990 with interruptions. The iron headframe from 1885, together with the winding machine from 1922, is the oldest functioning system in Germany. Between 1951 and 1990, around 820,000 tons of copper were produced in the GDR.
