Eisenberg

Olsberg (51.364225 | 8.518036 or 51.366090 | 8.522518)

Fear and trust

Philippstollen: Guided tour of the mining tunnel with access via a narrow passage that leads into the 'Barbara Grotto' after approx. 1 km (guided tours by arrangement).5 minutes further on, at a spring in a high Buchenwald, is the entrance to the Maxstollen, which is no longer accessible.

Behind this iron gate, force majeure determines life and survival. A place of danger, that is palpable as I step through the gate that Siegfried Stahlmecke has unlocked. The mountain doesn't want us. Even before we enter its realm, it blows an icy blast of resistance. While April cozies up outside with a mild 24 degrees, winds with what feels like zero degrees sweep towards us from the dark corridor. My ears, which peek out from under my red helmet, are freezing like in winter. The gravel crunches under my shoes. The tunnel is low, we walk bent over with our heads down.

In silence, we penetrate deeper and deeper into the tunnel. For the first few meters, you can literally feel how hard the miners fought their way down into the depths 250 years ago. Using Hamm and mallets, as my fingers can read from the rugged surface, they worked their way down. Sometimes they only managed five to seven centimetres a day. And yet they created a tunnel system that connected the Philippstollen with the Maxstollen, which is now only accessible to bats. The cones of light from the flashlights reveal how colorful the rock is to the left, right and above us. Rich rust-red, from the iron ore. Yellowish when the sulphur content is high. Beige when sand has been washed out and caked in over millions of years. Hardened salts whiten the walls. The water trickling down everywhere makes them shine like icing on a cake.

The everyday life of the miners who dug the Philippstollen from 1749 onwards was certainly no walk in the park. They came from the surrounding villages. In the morning, they looked after the chickens and pigs at home. Then they set off on a kilometer-long journey to Eisenberg, 606 meters high, near Olsberg. They toiled underground for ten or twelve hours, then went back home and looked after the animals again. No wonder they often died at the age of 40. The further I follow our guide into the darkness, the more I can sense how hostile this environment was for the workers. People really had no business here. Too cold, too wet, too windy, too dangerous. But they wanted something from the mountain, they wanted its treasures, in this case iron ore, in other cases gold, which has been found in many places in the Sauerland. To achieve this, they braved fatigue and illness, and they worked close to death every day.

After 600 meters, I can suddenly stretch and lift my head. And see that we are standing in a grotto. We light candles that are lying around somewhere. In their glow, the walls shine in all shades of red, the rock arches above us at a height of more than four meters. When all the candles are lit, the whole scene unfolds. A bat has clung to a small ledge under the ceiling, hanging upside down. Somewhere in the background, pit water gurgles. At the side of the grotto, flat stones are piled up as high as a man, a kind of altar. On it stands a black arc of light, as we know them from the Ore Mountains. To the right is a wayside shrine to Saint Barbara, a dark metal figure framed by light-colored wood. She is the patron saint of miners. This place was dedicated to her when the Philippstollen became a visitor mine.

Her veneration has a long tradition. Before the men went into the tunnel in the morning, they greeted the patron saint and asked for her help. In the evening, when they saw daylight again, they greeted her again and thanked her for her protection. After all, they repeatedly witnessed miners being injured by falling boulders. Or even buried, beyond repair. What else could they do but surrender to God? Even I, as a visitor who reached the Barbara Grotto relatively comfortably and safely, can understand their forlornness in the cold corridors, their immeasurable need for protection and comfort.

The grotto reminds me, the passionate mountain hiker, of the scenery in the high mountains. The piles of stones that lead the way on the mountain. The rugged rock. The gurgling streams. The silence above 2000 meters. Finally, the summit cross, in this case a statue of Barbara, to thank you for the hardships you have overcome. Suddenly the grotto seems like an upside-down summit, buried deep in the mountain.

The tunnel is not only visited by those interested in geology. A trombone choir has also played in the Barbara Grotto, and poems have been recited there in front of a small audience. Stahlmecke says that since the Steigerhäuschen next to the entrance to the gallery is now available for weddings, weddings are also possible. The formula of "the good times and the bad times", I'm sure, would carry special weight if spoken underground.

Author: Michael Gleich