Historical Ore Mining Sites in Lower Silesia (Poland) As Geo-Tourism Attraction
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Acta Geoturistica volume 4 (2013), number 1, 15-26 Historical ore mining sites in Lower Silesia (Poland) as geo-tourism attraction MACIEJ MADZIARZ KGHM CUPRUM RDC Ltd., Wroclaw, Poland (E-mail: [email protected]) ABSTRACT Article presents the possibilities of using of the remains of old ore mining tradition in the Lower Silesia as major attractions of industrial tourism and geo-tourism, against a background of the mining development in that area and characteristics of the research work conducted systematically for many years at former mining and metallurgical sites by the Mining Institute of Wrocław University of Technology. The article presents a project for the preservation, conservation and modern-day use of the survived remains of tin and cobalt ore mining in the vicinity of Krobica- Gierczyn-Przecznica at the foot of the Izerskie Mountains in the neighbourhood of Świeradów Zdrój, which is executed by KGHM CUPRUM Sp. z o.o. Key words: history, ore mining, exploration and exploitation of deposits, Sudety Mountains LOWER SILESIAN ORE MINING IN silver and copper, the mining origin of HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE which is covered with mists of history and can be traced back to as early as the bronze „…There is land of such a nature that if age. Although the territorial notion of you sow, it does not yield crops, but if you Silesia underwent essential changes dig, it nourishes many more than if it had throughout its history, the mining of borne fruit …” different ores had been successfully carried This timeless Xenophanes thought was on here for many ages. To the north and to cited in the introduction to „De Re the east of its boundaries no mining activity Metallica” – the first ever complex study had been carried on, it was only in the concerning mining, metallurgy and distant Bytom and Tarnowskie Góry region mineralogy, by its author Georgius (the Polish Ore Basin) that mining activity Agricola, a 16th-century researcher, was carried on a large scale. To the west, scientist, physician and philosopher, one of the nearest mining activity area was the the most eminent intellects of the region of Freiberg. It should be stressed that Renaissance. The above maxim perfectly despite the distinct separation of the Lower reflects the importance of mining carried on Silesian mining, it took advantage of the over the ages in the area of Lower Silesia, experience of other, important mining especially in the Sudety Mts., where centres in Europe, achieving a high level of adverse weather conditions and poor soils mining and metallurgic technology did not favour stock-farming and plant- (Dziekoński, 1972). In order to respect the growing, and the real source of wealth and old divisions, the notions of Lower Silesia - prosperity of their inhabitants were the Silesia Inferior, Niederschlesien for the treasures hidden deep in the mountains by west Silesia and the Upper Silesia - Silesia the Nature. These treasures are made up of Superior, Oberschlesien for the east Silesia numerous mineral deposits, especially were used. The borders of Poland on the metal and ore deposits, including gold, Bóbr and Kwisa Rivers were established in 15 Acta Geoturistica volume 4 (2013), number 1, 15-26 the year of 1000, when the Wrocław monocline situated north of Lubin bishopric was created and they did not (Dziekoński, 1972). The historically known undergo any major changes throughout the deposits were exploited over many ages and Middle Ages. The south border constituted they were mostly the so-called “open the massifs of the Sudety Mountains deposits”, i.e. the ore bodies of those (Czapliński et. al., 2002). Despite the deposits were at least partly exposed by the complex and turbulent political history of erosion surface, which allowed their early the Silesia, mining activity has always an discovery and extraction (Dziedzic et al., important economic role, providing 1979). livelihood for their inhabitants and for German scientists Cloos, Berg, Bederke regional development opportunities. The and Petrascheck were the first to undertake origin of many Lower Silesian places is work aimed to systematise the information associated with mining. Gold, ores of silver on Lower Silesia deposit occurrence and and lead, copper, tin, arsenic, cobalt genesis, in combination with geological and chromium, iron, coal, lignite, building structural assumptions. In 1936, the stone, and even mineral waters constituted comprehensive study “Schlesien. large resources of that region. However, the Bodenschätze und Industrie“, containing subject of interest for former miners were, the evaluation of geological basis for the first of all, numerous, small polymetallic development of mineral extraction and ore deposits, usually containing a few basic processing within the area of Lower Silesia, ore minerals, exploited in a documented was completed by a group of German manner over the period from the 13th to 20th scientists and researchers of that period, century (Dziekoński, 1972). In Lower such as O. Spangenberg, E. Bederke, O. Silesia, more precisely in the Sudety Mts., Eisenkraut, I. Bartsch, L. Gäbler, F. Ilner, these types of ore formations encompass a A. Metzing, M. Morgeroth, E. Pralle, D. number of deposits and occurrences Rademacher, F.W. Siegert, H. Sinnreich, characterised by multicomponent and W. Thust (Madziarz, 2009). Since 1945 that variable mineralisation. The area of their work has been intensely continued by the occurrence is the Sudety Mts. and their Polish researchers and it has resulted in the foothills, where veins or mineralised zones discovery of a huge polymetallic deposit of reach the length of more than 2 km copper and silver, and consequently in the (Radzimowice), and the depth of more than modern-day boom in the ore mining in 300 m (Kowary) (Dziedzic et al., 1979). In Lower Silesia. The deposits on the Fore- the initial mining period, first of all the Sudeten monocline, which were discovered richest and easily available deposits at only after World War II, are ranked among small depths have been exploited, and the the largest in the world and are nowadays vein deposits initially evaluated as abundant intensely exploited in the three modern often turned out to be small and difficult in underground mines. exploitation. The history of Lower Silesian ore Lower Silesia is divided into six main mining is well known and mostly regions in respect of the useful mineral associated with the gold mining which was occurrence These are: Kłodzko Land, carried on in many centres and was of Sowie Mountains along with the Wałbrzych special importance to them (Dziedzic et al., region, the foothills of the Karkonosze 1979; Dziekoński, 1972; Quiring, 1948; Mountains, exploited gold-dust deposits in Sachs, 1906). First of all, the area in the the vicinity of Lwówek, Złotoryja and former Legnica Duchy, between the rivers Legnica, the so-called North-Sudeten Kaczawa and Bóbr in the region of Zechstein depression (having outcrops Lwówek, Złotoryja, Mikołajowice and south of Lwówek and Złotoryja and near Bolesławiec was distinguished by the Grodziec), and Fore-Sudeten Zechstein volume of production. The boom in gold 16 Acta Geoturistica volume 4 (2013), number 1, 15-26 mining took place in the years 1180–1241, with the influence of Celts, who stayed in and only in the first half of the 13th century the Silesia in the period of the 4th to 3rd the mining law was introduced for the gold century B.C. (Celtic silver and bronze coins mines as one of the earliest in Europe are known). It is also known that in the (Lwówek in 1278, Złotoryja in 1342). On period of the so-called “Lusatian Culture”, the European scale, Złoty Stok became a in the neighbourhood of Legnica and recognised centre of gold mining and Złotoryja arms and tools were locally made metallurgy, where the arsenic ore deposits of bronze – an alloy of copper and tin, by containing gold were exploited. There, the casting in stone moulds, with the shortages beginnings of mining goes back to 1291, replenished with imports from Carpathians and the largest boom is traced back to 15th and Eastern Alps. In the bronze age this century and the first half of the 16th century. area was within the reach of the so-called Till the end of the 17th century the goal of “Unietic Culture”, which formed from the mining activity was the production of around 2100 B.C., especially south of gold, and since the beginning of the 18th Wrocław. Numerous copper products as century the activity had been concentrated well as those made of bronze and gold, on the production of arsenic, with gold including arms, daily necessities, being recovered as a by-product. The ornaments, etc. are found in the discovered exploitation in Złoty Stock was finally skeleton graveyards of that culture. It is brought to an end in 1962. According to known that its twilight occurred as a result German researcher Quiring the name Sowie of the fall of already-existing copper mining Mountains – in German: Eulengebirge, and processing centres, which were located comes from the Celtic word meaning gold in the areas where that culture evolved (Quiring, 1948). In fact, in the already- (Czapliński et. al., 2002). The documented exploited ore veins in the Sowie Mountains history of copper ore mining in Lower there were small amounts of that precious Silesia – the metal which, besides gold, was metal. the earliest and initially most extensively Hidden behind the fascinating shine of used one in the human history, both in gold is the forgotten but yet several- ancient times and nowadays, encompasses century-old and noble history of Lower the period of at least 700 years, as the first Silesian mining and metallurgy of many survived information on the existence of other ores among which ores of copper, “Cuprifodina in montibus” – which simply lead and silver, tin and cobalt, arsenic, iron means „a copper mine in the mountains” in and, later, uranium were historically most Latin (Dziekoński, 1972; Madziarz, 2010), significant.