The Barbara Tower, a viewing platform near the Westerwald town of Malberg in the community of Betzdorf-Gebhardshain, is intended as a former winding tower to commemorate the time of ore mining in the region. At 22 meters high, the observation tower built in 2013 on the Steinebergerhöhe offers an impressive view over the heights of the northern Westerwald. Located directly on the "Druidensteig" hiking trail, the tower with a former shaft house as a covered area and several benches also serves as a resting place for hikers. But the winding tower has a long journey behind it, because it originally came from a pit in Bad Grund in the Harz Mountains. The following is written on the information board on the Barbara Tower: “The Barbara Tower has had an unusual journey. It used to stand as a conveyor shaft above the western shaft of the Grund lead-zinc ore mine in Bad Grund in the Harz Mountains. The steel headframe was erected in 1941 by the Louis Eilers company (Hanover). The sheave axis is at a height of 17.43 meters. The associated winding machine, an electric drum winding machine with an output of 125 kW, dates from 1942 and was designed by the company Schmidt, Kranz & Co from Nordhausen. When the Grund ore mine was shut down in 1992, the small plant on the west shaft was initially retained until the head frame was finally dismantled on March 29, 1999. The winding tower was saved from scrapping and dismantled into several parts. In Friedewald in the Westerwald, the tower waited 14 years to be resurrected.” In order to set an example for ore mining in the region around Malberg, the construction of a winding tower near the former Bindweide ore mine as a monument and viewing platform had been planned for several years. Ore was mined in the Bindweide mine until 1931. The people in the area were very closely associated with mining. More than 600 workers were employed in the Bindweide mine to mine iron ore.
You definitely have a fantastic view from the top. However, my fear of heights prevented me from climbing any further than the second flight of stairs, and even then I only did so with wobbly legs. Nevertheless, it is a very nice, informative place on the Druidensteig, you can sit down and take a break, the information boards tell you about the history of the tower and mining.
A new visit there is definitely worth it (for fans of historical mining)!! Unfortunately I can't add any photos here, so: go and be pleasantly surprised :)
Translated by Google •
Sign up for a free komoot account to get 2 more insider tips and takes.