Roofing slate mine - long tradition
There are three roofing slate ranges in Rhineland-Palatinate. The camps previously mined in the region at Wirschweiler, Sıesbach, Sensweiler, Kirschweiler, Breitenthal, Kempfeld, Sonnschied, Wickenrodt, Mörschied, Wörresbach and the important Bundenbach mines between Rhauer and Bruschied were all on the southern Birkenfeld -Binger train. It runs from the northwestern foothills of the Hochwald along the eastern slope of the Idarwald to the Rhine and beyond. The extraction of roofing slate in Rhineland-Palatinate has been proven to date back to Roman times. Corresponding finds were made in the Mayen area. However, the beginnings of roofing slate mining in the Hunsrück can only be determined imprecisely. In 1482, the mayor of Herrstein was issued a letter of inheritance in which he was promised the use of "Leiengruben" in return for tithing. Helbach reported around 1600 that the slate was sent to other landscapes. However, the rock certainly only acquired particular economic importance when it was... had begun to prepare it for roofing. Instead of the low straw and shingle roof, the steep slate roof took place. This progress in house construction was achieved only hesitantly in the 18th century through regulations against the fire-hazardous straw roofs. In the Oberstein rule this took place in 1719, while in the Birkenfeld offices and Allenbach, the strict ban on straw roofs and wooden chimney stones was pronounced in 1778. In 1855, however, more than half of the houses were still covered with straw. Today, the settlement landscape in the Hunsrück is largely characterized by the blue-gray slate roofs of the villages, although roof slate mining is still in progress Rhineland-Palatinate is now almost completely closed. In 2003, underground extraction only took place in the Eıfei near Mayen and in the Hunsrück near Altlay. The cost-effective processing of imported slate, particularly from Spain, has eliminated many mines for reasons of profitability