#118 Reversible Waterwheel & Man Engine

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1837

Hoists representative of bygone practice, including a waterwheel for ore hoisting and a mechanism to hoist workers

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This silver mine preserves two features of bygone practice. One is the reversible waterwheel of the ore-hoist, which originally was installed in 1565 and currently dates back to 1824. The present wheel is 9 meters in diameter and reaches a depth of 700 meters.

Second, the man engine of 1837 with a 12-meter waterwheel was used for the transport of miners to spare them the exertion of climbing hundreds of yards of ladders. The first working depth of 600 meters was extended to 800 meters. The axle and the driving eccentric are original, but the body of the wheel was restored in 1954. The present man engine (for the convenience of museum personnel) has an electric drive, dated 1922, and reaches a depth of 190 meters.

Landmark Location

Grube Samson
3424 St. Andreasberg
Niedarachsen, Germany Z5

Visiting Info

 

Ceremony Notes

May 1987