View from the dump on the mine in March 2003, left in the background the coal power station Scholven
Pit Hugo 1/4 with gas extraction plant, March 2003
In the years 1870 to 1872 various Mutungsbohrungen west of Buer were found. Under the leadership of the Essen merchant Hugo Honigmann was founded by shareholders from Essen, Mülheim an der Ruhr and Buer on March 24, 1873, the union of the hard coal mine Hugo and approved on April 2, 1874 mining rights.
1873 began on the highway to Horst with the sinking of the first shaft. In 1875 this could go into operation. He was equipped with the first iron conveyor frame of the type Promnitz in Germany. Due to technical difficulties in commissioning the shaft, the inflow of foreign capital was soon necessary. For this reason, the mining union Hugo was converted in 1881 into a public limited company, in which the international mining group Harpener Bergbau AG had the majority of shares.
From 1881 to 1885, shaft 2 was sunk on Brößweg and set up as a production shaft. This shaft was equipped with a Tomson buck. In the southern field now followed from 1891 to 1895 the shaft 3.
To concentrate the production on the pits 1 and 2, these were expanded with time to double shaft systems. The following were killed:
from 1899 to 1902 next to shaft 1 of the shaft 4. He received a Tomson-Bock as a conveyor.
from 1905 to 1909 next to shaft 2 of shaft 5. Here also a Tomson-Bock was built, the last one, which was built in the mine property of Harpen AG.
1906 received the pit 2/5 additionally a coking plant. A coking plant blown on shaft 1/4 in 1914 had to be taken out of operation shortly thereafter. The mining operations were gradually modernized. There were increasingly used Schüttelrutschenförderungen.
1914-1960
After the First World War, Harpen AG carried out several summary measures. 1928 was followed by the decommissioning of the conveyor shaft plant 3. It was operated as Seilfahrt- and weather shaft facility. In 1930, the coking plant Hugo 2/5 was also shut down.
From 1934, the expansion of the mine was started again because of the changed political conditions. The treatment plants shaft 2/5 were extensively renewed.
The eastern and northern pit field area was gradually opened up by rope shaft shaft systems.
1934 to 1936 shaft Hugo 6 was brought down. This shaft was later called Hugo East.
1940 followed on the border with Scholven the shaft 7, called Hugo North. This went into operation in 1944.
In 1944, the mine suffered 2/5 heavy bomb damage. The production had to be shifted to pit 1/4. After repairing the war damage and equipment of the shaft 2 with vessel promotion 1947 the promotion after Hugo 2/5 was moved back. The pit 1/4 finally ceased mining. At the same time, however, a new coking plant with 140 coke ovens was put into operation at 1/4. In 1952, according to the decision of the Allied Control Council, the Hugo colliery was spun off from Harpen AG and assigned to the Essener Steinkohlenbergwerke AG.
From 1954 the plant was extensively expanded 2/5. The new buildings were designed by the architect Fritz Schupp. From 1957 to 1960, the new production shaft 8 was drilled on 2/5, which took over the main funding with large-capacity car promotion. Next to him, a new treatment was built. This ensemble has also been designed by Schupp.
1960-1997
In 1967, the no longer required shaft 3 was filled. In 1968, the Hugo colliery merged with the newly founded Ruhrkohle AG. The power plant Hugo 2/5/8 was taken over by the hard coal electricity AG (STEAG).
In 1971, the mine was able to take over many of the miners of the former coal mine Graf Moltke, who had been released as part of the overall adjustment plan for the Ruhr coal. Further modernization measures were carried out. The vessel delivery capacity of the Hugo 2 shaft has been increased. To this end, the shaft was given a new steel box scaffold with four-rope conveyor in 1974, to enable it to be transported in 30-tonne containers.
From 1973, the reduction of the carbon stocks of the former coal mine Graf Bismarck was increasingly tackled. For this purpose, the south field had to be tapped more technically. Therefore, from 1974 to 1979, the shaft Hugo 9 was sunk as a pure weather shaft. The same purpose was served by the shaft Emschermulde 2, abbreviated to EMU 2, which was brought down on the site of the Bismarck II colliery.
In 1977, the coking plant 1/4 was finally shut down. The shafts 1/4 were equipped with smaller conveyors. The subsidy in 1980 amounted to 3.5 million tonnes of fat, gas and gas flame coal with 5,000 employees. In 1986, the shaft 5 was equipped with a tower carrier to serve as a central rope ride and material shaft. On January 1, 1993, the coal mine Hugo was merged with the mine Consolidation and Nordstern to the mine Hugo / Consolidation according to the decisions of Kohlerunde.
closure
On 1 April 1997, the association with the mine Ewald / mallets & irons to the mine Ewald Hugo took place. The promotion of the construction field Hugo was relocated from January 1998 to Ewald in Herten. This mine was closed on April 30, 2000.
Today's condition
Mine gas production and utilization plant at the disused shafts Hugo 1/4 in Gelsenkirchen
Former lane keeper building at the Hugo Bahn
The remaining shafts were filled between 1997 and 2001, after plans for a visitor mine, which could have been operated through the shafts 5 and 8, 2001 were finally abandoned for cost reasons. This was followed by the almost complete demolition of the day facilities of all pits, including the extensive Schupp building on Hugo 2/5/8 and buildings from the Wilhelminian era, which was completed with the demolition of the power plant on Hugo 2/5/8.
It was thanks to an initiative of former miners and non-miners Hugo that the hoistway and haulage machine of Schacht Hugo 2 were not demolished. They were taken over in 2005 by the city of Gelsenkirchen, and are set up as a museum. Klaus Herzmanatus, the last chairman of the Hugo Mine Works Council, is the managing director and engine of the Hugo Schacht 2 e.V. support group. The action group for the preservation of the shaft now has a strength of almost 50 people.
Together with the historical circle Hugo / Schüngelberg, the sponsoring association maintains "the little museum", where you can experience mining and local history as well as the connection between FC Schalke 04 and the miners.
Also the brand control Hugo 1/4 is preserved, which today houses gastronomy. The old management and some officials' houses on the Horster road also testify to the mining past. Furthermore, there are of course in the area again and again discarded trolleys in front gardens and also deployed sheaves on the Horster road (corner Horster- / Hugostraße) to find.
The outer shafts North, East, 9, EMU 2 were also filled - they are currently used partly for mine gas utilization.
On the site of the former pit 1/4 mine gas is extracted via shaft lines and used for power generation. The mine gas extraction plant consists of gas suckers (rotary blower) and the recycling plant of gas engines with coupled power generators. The components are housed in containers and the electricity is fed into the public grid. Mine gas production facilities are also built on the grounds of the Hugo Ost and Hugo 9 secondary plants.
The gatekeeper's lodge of the Hugo-Bahn at the Horster road was preserved by the employment of Alfred Konter. The former servant of the Hugo-Bahn, popularly known as Don Alfredo, refused to leave the building when the demolition excavator started. Eventually, he was able to prevent the demolition, the house is now managed by the Regional Association Ruhr, and Alfred Konter has exhibited memorabilia in the house. The route of the Hugo-Bahn has been rebuilt as a cycle path and leads past the gatekeeper's lodge.
The settlement Schüngelberg is also included in the Route of Industrial Heritage.