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I have been the other day on holiday in Bohemia and somewhere, in the mass of leaflets and brochure, which inevitably comes along with the inquisitive tourist (HELP), there was a solitary reference to a Bohemian town which allegedly harboured the deepest medieval mine of the world in the 13th or 14th century.
Naturally, with Prag such a fascinating city, I did not catch up on the info then, but in retrospect I find that reference highly fascinating, because the mining operation should have seen a pretty impressive medieval machine park, considering thatmuch of the work must have been done far below the water-table.
Now who happen to have more info on this particular mine? I would also be grateful for reference to useful articles in medieval mining which could serve as a first foothold on the theme.
Stefan (Literary references to the discussed topics are always appreciated.)
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gr,
Jeroen Pelgrom
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Quote:was it this one:
www.pribram-city.cz/en/index.php?vid=18&nad=000001000010000012
Unfortunately not. This one is from the time of industrialization, but the one I am looking for is from the high to late middle ages when Bohemia, and the Reich in general, had a leading role in metallurgical 'industries'.
Stefan (Literary references to the discussed topics are always appreciated.)
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I will try to find something on Czech websites.
Martin
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gr,
Jeroen Pelgrom
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No, this one is only 22 meters deep, but that mine from the leaflet was something between 100 and 300 m deep, if I am not mistaken. Perhaps even deeper.
Stefan (Literary references to the discussed topics are always appreciated.)
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I found great site about czech mining, unfortunately, only in czech. :oops: :oops: :oops:
http://www.montanya.org/index2.php
Martin
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Could it be Kutna Hora? I remember visiting their mining museum, and while details are pretty dim (I was a kid then), the mines were pretty impressive and once the largest in medieval Europe.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kutna_Hora
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Volker Bach
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Perhaps, because Kuttenberg is closer to Prag. But I just do not know for sure, there is no mention of being the deepest mine of Europe. Perhaps it ws only one of those inflated tourist leaflet information. But I will keep on researching.
Stefan (Literary references to the discussed topics are always appreciated.)
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Yippie! I got it! It is apparently the Osel mine in Kuttenberg, Bohemia. As you said, Carlton, hats off.
[quote]
“As the ore veins had to be looked for deeper and deeper, the available technology became unsuited to the needs. In the mid-16th century, the Kutná Hora mining district experienced a widespread recession. The Osel mine, the world's deepest at its time at 600 m, was shut down.â€
Stefan (Literary references to the discussed topics are always appreciated.)
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Quote:Unfortunately, there is no more in-depth information to be found online. Could perhaps someone help out with some literary references as a starting point? I would like to know more about how they could drive the mine deeper than elsewhere? What about the medieval technology they used for that?
There is an 'Archäologie in Deutschland' Sonderband edited by Heiko Steuer and Ulrich Zimmermann titled "Alter Bergbau in Deutschland" (Theiss Verlag 1993, ISBN 393320335X) with several articles on medieval mining technologies. I own, but shamefully haven't read it, but it may well help you, esp. the article by Weisgerber about medieval mining technology developments.
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Volker Bach
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Thanks. Perhaps you can take a look in the glossary whether they also treat the silver mining in Kuttenberg. 
Stefan (Literary references to the discussed topics are always appreciated.)
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Quote:Thanks. Perhaps you can take a look in the glossary whether they also treat the silver mining in Kuttenberg.
:? No glossary. It's an essay collection. But I doubt Kutna Hora is in there explicitly. It's about Germany, and you can get into no end of trouble if you start equating the former Holy Roman Empire, or former Prussia, with that term.
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Volker Bach
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I send the museum at Kuttenberg an email and they came over with this list of literature:
1) BÃ
Stefan (Literary references to the discussed topics are always appreciated.)
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