Huttaler Widerwaage

The Huttaler weighbridge was built in the years 1763 to 1776 as part of the Upper Harz water shelf. The building is able to supply water from the Huttal to the Hirschler pond at low tide by appropriate switching and to relieve it from water at high tide.

The word Widerwaage is certainly not part of everyday vocabulary. It is a technical term from the special vocabulary of mining. There are several Widerwaages in the Harz. They are actually just a water basin or a backwater facility that ensures a constant water level over a more or less long stretch. Most Widerwaages are unspectacularly located at the foot of the dam of many reservoirs and prevent the wood from rotting by constantly flooding the historic oak outlet pipes. The Huttal Widerwaage occupies a special position in terms of size and also its function. Here it is ensured that the water can flow through a tunnel in two directions, depending on where it is needed more urgently or where there is too much. Here at the southern portal, the stone-lined triangular pond with a wide connection to the ditch creates a place with a special flair. There are many photos of this place. The northern portal of the tunnel at the Hirschler Teich, on the other hand, is relatively unknown. A short canal leads from the tunnel to the pond, which, when the water level is high, has exactly the same water level as the basin in front of the south portal.

The Huttaler Widerwaage is a water system between the Hirschler pond, the dam ditch, the Jägersbleeker pond and some other moats. It should ensure a sufficiently strong flow of water into the upper area of the Hirschler pond (i.e. in the first case of the Burgstätter Zug) to ensure the energy supply of the ore-rich pit Caroline.