Luckenbach is historically and geologically part of a border region: situated in the north-eastern corner of the Westerwald district, the old Nassau region borders on the Prussian region. Today, the Westerwald district and the Altenkirchen district shake hands in Luckenbach. Geologically, Luckenbach and its neighbouring communities are part of the Westerwald-Siegerland ore mining region.
Against this background, it is not surprising that there are countless relics of former mining activity in the municipality of Luckenbach. The number of known tunnels, shafts and ping fields is considerable. People in the region have been digging for iron ores and other minerals since time immemorial. But there are hardly any documents or records of their work. In 1776 and 1777, a Hachenburg mining council had iron ore mined on the Luckenbacher Hardt, "where he then came through and under the shafts" - according to the local history, this was the "founding document" of the adit. It had a very eventful history, quite a few entrepreneurs and miners tried to make their fortune with it. The name "Edelstein" for the gallery is first mentioned in a document from 1838. The owners and entrepreneurs changed, specialists (miners) were recruited from outside and dismissed again without the right of residence. The surrounding larger mines, such as Bindweide and the Krämer and Hochacht mines, were more successful and so "the smaller mines, such as Edelstein, were abandoned as uneconomic" (local chronicle). In 1920, the mine was once again awakened from its slumber in order to investigate whether ore deposits worth mining could be found. But this attempt was also abandoned in 1921. During the Second World War, the gallery protected the people of Luckenbach from aerial bombardment, and after the end of the war it served as a "refrigerator" for refugees - they were housed in makeshift dwellings on the levelled slag heap in front of the gallery mouth. The story up to here! In the present and future, locals and tourists can experience the feeling of "underground" in the Edelsteinstollen. Here we can vividly explain the work of the pre-industrial miners and tell about how the iron ore got into the mine.
This text was translated with the free translation tool deepl.com.
The visitor gallery of the "Grube Edelstein" in the Westerwald community of Luckenbach is the only iron ore mine in the Westerwald district that can still be experienced by locals and tourists. Every second Sunday in the months from April to October, visitors have the opportunity to immerse themselves in the underground world of the old miners.
This text was translated with the free translation tool deepl.com.
Contact and directions
Waldstraße
57629 Luckenbach
