Exhibition & guided tour of the visitor mine
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An unforgettable experience for young and old, combined with a journey through time, is offered by the unique world of the "Grube Bindweide" visitor mine. The museum in the above-ground area, which was developed according to a museum-pedagogical concept, gives you an idea of what reality is like underground. The mine train takes you 800 metres rattling down the mountain. Then you walk 300 metres. In the ore passages you get a first-hand impression of what it once meant to work here. Equally impressive are the reddish-brown ore-bearing rocks and the stalactites and stalagmites that have formed over the past decades. The adventure in the mountain lasts 90 minutes, sometimes accompanied by the loud noise of former tools. The pure and humid mountain air has a constant temperature of around 12 ° C.
The visitor mine Grube Bindweide is located in the local community of Steinebach/Sieg. It was built above the entrance to the "deep gallery" through which the iron ore mine was once accessed - a historic site. Until 1913, the mined iron ore was brought out of the mine via this adit.
Since 1986, the Bindweide mine has been a visitor mine. It inspires many thousands of visitors every year. In 2019, Mayor Bernd Brato and the mine team welcomed the 400,000th visitor.
The visitor mine also includes the following facilities and attractions:
Visitor center with museum of the iron ore mine Grube Bindweide
After a complete modernisation in 2013, you now have a modern visitor centre at your disposal. Several multimedia stations explain the geology of the Westerwald and how the ores were formed. In other sections of the museum, you will be taken on the exciting journey of the ores from the mine through processing to the finished product, and the history of the mine and the work in the Bindweide mine are vividly presented. This also includes the tragic mining accident that cost the lives of 14 miners.
Museum education: The offer of the visitor mine Grube Bindweide has been developed according to a museum pedagogical concept. Information on this can be found on the website www.qr-kultur.de, educational material on ore mining.
Support with European funds (LEADER project): The establishment of the visitor center with the museum, the pit forge and the barbara tower were supported by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD).
The visitor mine is a geo-information center: In addition, the Grube Bindweide visitor mine is one of ten GeoInformation Centres in the Westerwald-Lahn-Taunus GeoPark. The GeoInformation Centres of the GEOPARK are the entrance gates to the GeoPark. Here you will find information on geology and economic and cultural history in the GeoPark and, of course, on the other GeoPark stations as well as on the GeoRoutes that connect the information centres, the GeoPoints, GeoTopes and GeoViews (www.geopark-wlt.de).
Getting married underground
Another offer of the visitor mine is the possibility to get married in a civil ceremony in the "Pulverkammer".
The history of the Bindweide iron ore mine
The Bindweide iron ore mine was one of the largest mines in the Siegerland-Westerwald ore mining region. The mine looks back on a long history. As early as 1837, the mine field was awarded to a mining pioneer under the name "Maria an der Bindweide". After an up-and-coming and eventful development of the mine facilities, the world-famous Essen steel and mining company Alfred Krupp acquired the "Bindweide" in 1872. The previous owner had sold the mine after a catastrophic mining accident in which 14 miners lost their lives.
In the following decades, more than 5 million tons of iron ore were extracted from the efficient mine. During this time, up to 900 miners from the region found work in the Bindweide mine.
Due to a variety of technical problems and declining demand for iron ore during the world economic crisis, the Alfred Krupp company in Essen decided to shut down the mine. Underground operations were finally closed at the end of March 1932.
For a long time the mine was still referred to as a reserve pit, but production never resumed.
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The Bindweide Mine - an adventurous journey to the treasures of the earth
Good luck! With this traditional miner's greeting, the mine team welcomes you to a discovery of the underground world in the Bindweide mine: exciting, impressive, adventurous.
Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)
The temperature in the mine is max. 10 °C, so warm clothing is recommended.
Contact and directions
Bindweider Straße 2
57520 Steinebach/Sieg
