dr Agnieszka Gontaszewska-Piekarz

The discovery of lignite and the history of the mining company

"Consolidierte Grünberger Gruben" in Zielona Góra

Zielona Góra, 2019

Zielona Góra / Grünberg

An outline of the formation of a pushed moraine (Kupetz, 1997) 1 – ice, 2 – sands, gravels, 3 – clays, 4 – lignite, 5 – undisturbed bedrock

Lignite deposits near Zielona Góra

„Wał Zielonogórski” – a pushed moraine with lignite deposits

Lignite saddle in mine „Sieniawa” - opencast exploitation , 2010

Geological cross-section mine „Sieniawa” [Winnicki, 2004]

Lignite saddle – underground exploitation ,

“Smogóry” mine, ca. 1960

1 – lignite bed, 2 – glacial till, 3 – mining levels

The oldest known map of lignite deposits in Brandenburg (Plettner, 1852)

The oldest lignite mine

(1820)

• The discoverer of the Zielona Góra deposits was the merchant Carl Adolph Pohlenz

• He was professionally involved for 35 years with the steelworks , then in 1837 he

moved to Zielona Góra

• He was interested in natural sciences, in particular mineralogy and paleontology

• Pohlenz came to the conclusion that lignite deposits should occur by Zielona Góra

• On September 1838, he turned to the Royal Higher Mining Office in Brzeg for

permission to carry out some research excavations. Soon lignite

was discovered at a depth of ca 4.5 m.

• Further researches was moved to the place marked “Alte Vollerde Grube", where the thick lignite deposit was found

under the layer of clay. This place was marked as so-called “Fundpunkte” of the mining field.

• On this basis, on 30 July 1839, Pohlenz submitted the mining field (German: Muthung).

• The subsequent search showed the occurrence of a 16-foot (about 5 m) lignite seam. Most of the excavations and

boreholes showed the occurrence of lignite at a depth of a few to several meters below the ground level

Carl Adolph Pohlenz

Discovery of lignite deposits near Zielona Góra

Map “Situation und Profile über die Bohr und Schurfarbeit auf Wittgenauer und Schloiner Terrain” Kgl. Oberbergamt Breslau, 1840, original scale approx. 1: 1450,

Ziegelei - brickyard, Weingarten - vineyard, Alte Lehmgrube - former clay mine, no XXX - borehole or an excavation.

• Researches was financed by Pohlenz from his own funds, but he was unable to continue it

• On October 2, 1840 Pohlenz met counsellor Carl Georg Treutler and made an agreement with him on financing the further searches. The Treutler family was an owner of the coal mines and steelwork in Wałbrzych (Waldenburg)

• On October 15, 1840, Pohlenz and Treutler reported a mining field called “Friedrich Wilhelm” to the Royal Higher Mining Office

• On November 24, 1840, Carl Pohlenz signed an official cooperation with Carl Treutler regarding the area within six miles (about 45 km) from Zielona Góra. The agreement contained a provision for Pohlenz in each mine that would be created in this area in the future.

First mining field

Certificate no. 29 on possession of two kuxes in “Consolidirte Grünberger Gruben”,

from the collection of Marek Konecki

• October 15, 1840 - establishment of the oldest mine: „Friedrich Wilhelm” in Wilkanowo ( Heinrichau)

• In the meantime, other merchants and industrialists also became interested in lignite and became the owners of many mining fields and licences near Zielona Góra.

• Instead of opening independent mines, they decided to unite and establish a mining company („Gewerkschaft”)

• On November 1843 they signed an agreement to establish a mining company based on 14 mining licences and fields

• The agreement was signed by: Carl George Treutler (533/6 kuxes), Johann Samuel Mannigel (17 5/6 kuxes), Paul Leopold Schuhmann (17 5/6 kuxes), Friedrich August Grempler (17 5/6 kuxes) and Carl Adolph Pohlenz (15 kuxes)

Kuxes = mining company shares

Establishment of the mining company

1861: Consolidation of mines: „Christiane“, „Konsolidierte Agnes Grube“ (Świdnica), „Konsolidierte Beust Grube“

(Rybno-Jędrzychów), „Konsolidierte Friedrich Wilhelm und Elisabeth Grube“ (Wilkanowo – Rybno), „Agathe”

(Rybno), „Erdmenger”, „Richard”, „Beust Zubehör” and other 19 mining fields as „Bergwerk Konsolidierte

Grünberger Gruben”

1905: Consolidation of 23 mines and minig fields: „Konsolidierte Grünberger Gruben”, „Kleine Agathe”, „Kleiner

Erich”, mine number 1 to 14, „Viktoria”, „Mathilde”, „Langersehnt Glück”, „Förster”, „Zukunft”

as: „Braunkohlenbergwerk Konsolidierte Grünberger Gruben”

Mining company „Consolidierte Grünberger Gruben”

1 - main roads, 2 - railway lines, 3 - smaller mines, 4 - areas exploited by the “Consolidierte Grünberger Gruben” Mines of „Consolidierte Grünberger Gruben” : 1 - Friedrich Wilhelm, 2 - Zukunft, 3 - Langersehnt Glück, 4 - Mathilde,

5 - Förster, 6 - Johann Carl, 7- Glück Auf, 8 - Beust, 9 - Consolidirte Carl, other mines: 10 - Cosel, 11- Glückauf Ferdinand

Lignite mining areas near Zielona Góra

• The first lignite mine : “Friedrich Wilhelm”

• 1840 - Julius Schwidtal was employed as a foreman, later he became the mine director

• The first shaft: „Carl George”, launched on October 1841, location unknown, but not enough

lignite for exploitation

• The second shaft: “Emilie” , 1841, north of Naumburger Strasse (now Łużycka street). Depth of

the shaft was ca. 10 m, the thickness of the lignite seam ca. 3 m

• End of exploitation of “Emilie” shaft : ca. 1850

• Mining transfered to „Beust” and „Richard” mine, on the next mining fields

• Average minig duration in single shaft: 2-3 years

Beginnings of exploitation

Schematic cross-section through the lignite seam exploited in the Friedrich Wilhelm mine (Plettner, 1852).

Some newspaper’s announcement from initial years

Zielona Góra

Rybno

Heinrichau

Wilkanowo (Wittgenau)

Słone (Schloin)

Pohlenz’s excavations

Emilie shaft

Carl George shaft

Reinhold shaft

Victoria shaft

Krug von Nidda shaft

Friedrich Wilhelm

shaft

Lignite mining areas 1840-1850

Richard mine

Beust mine

• “Consolidirte Grünberger Gruben” was one of the largest and longest operating lignite mines in West Poland

• It had a significant impact on the development of Zielona Góra's industry,

• It allowed the introduction of steam engines into city industry (weaving and spinning mills)

• “Consolidirte Grünberger Gruben” never achieved economic successes

• various adversities: economic (cheaper exploitation in open-cast mine) and geological (complicated geological

conditions)

• mining after the Second World War lasted very short, due to the lack of professionals (underground miners , drilling

staff) – mine „Słone”

• The deposits were exhausted and further investigation was not undertaken

• 1948: end of exploitation, mine properties were transfered to mine „Henryk” in Żary (Sorau)

“Consolidirte Grünberger Gruben” in 19th and 20th century

Shaft „Karl” – a postcard from Zielona Góra, ca. 1910

Briquette factory built in 1884

Shaft „Alexander II”, 1925

Sinkholes near mining shaft, Mittelweg (Łąkowa Street) in 1918

[Grünberger Hauskalender 1919]

Surface deformation during exploitation

– a result of collapse of exploited, empty chamber

Sinkholes near Łużycka Street, 2019

Sinkhole at the place of small ventilation shafts of „Pohlenz VII” shaft,

Słone, 2006 photo M. Białek

Sinkhole at the place of chute (small descending gallery)

Rybno, 2012 photo I. Prociewicz

Surface deformation years after exploitation

– a result of suffosion between subsoil and unfilled shafts

Airborne Laser Scaning (LIDAR) – each sinkhole represents one exploitation chamber

Richard mine

Beust mine

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