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Numerous tunnels in the Hahnenbachtal valley bear witness to the mining past of this region... these tunnels even have tracks that were previously used for lorries

I could have explored the right aisle with rubber boots 😕

The path leads through two consecutive rock breakthroughs. But be careful, the headroom is very limited.

Old mine tunnel that I don't want to enter because of the risk of collapse.

There is a lot to explore here

A few meters away from the Soonwaldsteig at the bridge over the Steinbach, an unslated tunnel leads into the mountain. After about 40 meters, a mining dome opens up, from which another tunnel leads off and where a small bench was improvised. A tombstone documents the lifetime of a Philipp Schmitt (1869-1951). About the history: The "Altlayenkaul" pit near Rudolfshaus below Bruschied dates back to the 17th century. According to entries in old church books, 13 miners died there in 1740 when a mine collapsed. There is a document from 1840 in which King Wilhelm IV of Prussia granted the mining rights to this pit to the predecessor of the Drescher family. The Drescher family acquired the mine in 1875. In 1953 the Katharinen shaft was rebuilt. In 1956, 2 foremen and 52 men were employed in this mine.

It is actually surprising that the topic of "dry wall" is the subject of an information board, while a little off the hiking trail at the end of a path a tunnel opens up that leads to a widely branched mine. In addition to protecting the bats, this may also be the reason why a grid prevents further access after about 10 meters. From here, however, you can already see numerous tunnels leading downwards, upwards and to the side, which are only poorly secured or not secured at all, so that one can quickly sink into the bottomless holes filled with water. Exploration would be exciting but potentially very dangerous. The wood found in the Bierfinckgraben mine allows the mining activity to be dated to three periods around 1500, around 1700 and 1750. Literature: Tree ring chronological key data on the mining history of the Hunsrück By Mechthild Neyses-Eiden https://journals.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/index.php/fuabt/article/view/54645/55623

https://www.museumsportal-rlp.de/museen/visitorbergwerk-grube-herrenberg Due to a rockfall in February 2022, the mine is closed indefinitely