Slate Mine Tunnel (Bat Cave) in Saar-Hunsrück Nature Park

The old tunnels in the Hunsrück make the region an important habitat for various species of bats. Here you'll find one of these tunnels, which can be lit outside of hibernation times so you can take a look inside.

Roofing slate mine - long tradition

There are three roofing slate ranges in Rhineland-Palatinate. The camps previously mined in the region at Wirschweiler, Sıesbach, Sensweiler, Kirschweiler, Breitenthal, Kempfeld, Sonnschied, Wickenrodt, Mörschied, Wörresbach and the important Bundenbach mines between Rhauer and Bruschied were all on the southern Birkenfeld -Binger train. It runs from the northwestern foothills of the Hochwald along the eastern slope of the Idarwald to the Rhine and beyond. The extraction of roofing slate in Rhineland-Palatinate has been proven to date back to Roman times. Corresponding finds were made in the Mayen area. However, the beginnings of roofing slate mining in the Hunsrück can only be determined imprecisely. In 1482, the mayor of Herrstein was issued a letter of inheritance in which he was promised the use of "Leiengruben" in return for tithing. Helbach reported around 1600 that the slate was sent to other landscapes. However, the rock certainly only acquired particular economic importance when it was... had begun to prepare it for roofing. Instead of the low straw and shingle roof, the steep slate roof took place. This progress in house construction was achieved only hesitantly in the 18th century through regulations against the fire-hazardous straw roofs. In the Oberstein rule this took place in 1719, while in the Birkenfeld offices and Allenbach, the strict ban on straw roofs and wooden chimney stones was pronounced in 1778. In 1855, however, more than half of the houses were still covered with straw. Today, the settlement landscape in the Hunsrück is largely characterized by the blue-gray slate roofs of the villages, although roof slate mining is still in progress Rhineland-Palatinate is now almost completely closed. In 2003, underground extraction only took place in the Eıfei near Mayen and in the Hunsrück near Altlay. The cost-effective processing of imported slate, particularly from Spain, has eliminated many mines for reasons of profitability

Roof slate

The roofing slate deposits of the Hunsrück date back to the Lower Devonian period around 400 million years ago. They were formed from clayey marine deposits, which later solidified into layered claystones and were "slated" during the folding of the Rhenish Slate Mountains. Foliation is a consequence of the directed pressure in the earth's crust during mountain formation, during which the mineral components of the claystones align in parallel and partially reform. Roof slate is the name given to clay slate in which the layering of the claystone and the foliation run parallel. This makes it possible to split large and thin plates. The Hunsrück slate, which is characterized by its uniform gray-black color, weather resistance and easy splitting, is one of the best varieties of German roofing slate deposits.