Malakow Tower at Am Bliestollen

At the BliestollenAt the border to Sundern and Weitmar we find a dead end. Although it is only a few hundred meters long, its naming reveals a lot about the history of mining in Stiepel: the road "Am Blies Stollen"
The first name given in 1909 for this street was "Friedrichstraße" after the lying on it coal mine Friedrich (not to be confused with Carl Friedrich Erbstolln, Kemnader road, named after a member of the main owner family Gethmann). The Friedrich colliery was in operation from 1753 to 1777 and subsequently remained down until 1832. Then they began with the development of a new tunnel, 1835 was the re-commissioning. The colliery was in the possession of the Prussian state, so that the assumption is obvious that the designation "Friedrich" after the Prussian kings took place. The valley on the border to Sundern and Weitmar, in which the road is located, was therefore also called Friedrichstal. The official name is Rauterdeller Siepen. In this valley were more coal mines, the most important was probably "Prussian scepter", which was also in the possession of the Prussian state and as one of the oldest coal mines in the area Bochum at least since 1695 in operation.In the years 1831 to 1854, the industrialist Franz Haniel has acquired the ownership of the coal mine in Rauterdeller Siepen, partially auctioned. In 1873 these, i. the two collieries Prussian scepter and Friedrich as well as further collieries of the Rauterdeller Siepen to the colliery "Brockhauser Tiefbau" united. At this time, the production shaft of Frederick already existed and was sunk until 1874 on. For days he received a built of quarry stone / Ruhr sandstone Malakowturm. This 1876 put into operation Stiepeler Malakowturm is of the 13 surviving Malakow towers of the Ruhr area, the only built in Ruhr sandstone structure of its kind. All other towers are built of brick or brick.
 
While the first naming "Friedrichstraße" is reminiscent of coal mining, the renaming to "Am Bliestollen" in 1929 results from ore mining. With the establishment of the Henrichshütte in Hattingen from 1854 there was a great need for ores for the iron and steel production. In Rauterdeller Siepen two smaller lead ore finds can be detected.

Mining history hiking trail in Weitmarer Holz with Malakow tower.