Füsseberg Pit in DaadenThe Füsseberg mine is mentioned in 1708. According to the mine report, in 1799 one pit foreman, four hewers and two blacksmiths were employed. The "Altmahlscheider Gewerkschaft" is named as the owner. In 1837, the union sold its shares to an English mining company. When Krupp/Essen took over the mine in 1872, it was extensively modernised for the first time and 50 miners were already employed. But the mine is shut down as early as 1892, as the available gangue had been mined out. The time for the enormous expansion of ore mining came in 1899, when the construction of a deep mining plant was approved. In 1908 the mine was connected to the Reichsbahn and in 1913 wet processing of the ore began, followed two years later by electromagnetic processing.From 1925 to 1929, however, the mine again suffered considerable losses due to competition from cheap foreign ore. On the other hand, during the economic crisis of 1931/1932, the Füsseberg, or the "Fuss" as it was called by the miners, was the only one of the Krupp mines where operations were maintained. After an interconnected operation was established with the Friedrich-Wilhelm mine on the 17th level in 1937, this meant the largest operation of all the Siegerland spar iron mines with an underground roadway network of over 35 km. The Füsseberg shaft became the main winding shaft with a depth of 1,046 m and was equipped with a new electric winding machine. A central processing plant and a roasting plant were also built there. During this period of operation, a monthly production of 30,000 tonnes of raw ore was achieved. However, the Füsseberg mine was not spared from the great mine decline in the Siegerland region. It was closed on 31 March 1965.Today, mining relics and an information board at the Füsseberg Erbstollen are reminders of times gone by. The history of local mining is also well documented in the Daadener Land local history museum (Bürgerhaus Daaden). The marked mine hiking trail Daadener Land - Herdorf is intended as a reminder of the time of ore mining and the smelting of the extracted ores into steel and iron in the Daade valley. It takes hikers to historical sites of old mining traditions and thus provides interesting insights into the hard work of past generations.
Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)
The Füsseberg - Friedrich Wilhelm iron ore mine (also called Füsseberg or Fuss) was one of the most important iron ore mines in the Siegerland ore district.
Contact and directions
Betzdorfer Str. 170
57567 Daaden