The Silver Mines
| Length: | Starts: | Ends: | Status: |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 km | Saggrenda gruvestasjon Station | Haus Sachsen gruve | Abandoned |
The Kongsberg Silver Mines is the oldest mine field in Norway and was one of the largest in Europe. It consists of 1,000 kilometres of adits, and mine railways were constructed in some of them. The silver mine has been preserved after the closure in 1957.
Entrance of Underbergstollen. Photo: Jenny Arnesen/Buskerud fylkesfotoarkiv
The Starting
The silver mining was started on 18 October 1623. New discoveries were soon made, and the year after, mining was started at Prinsen's Mine, Hertug Ulrich Mine and Hertug Frederik's Mine as well. In the beginning mining was performed by primitive equipments such as hammer and sledge, but from 1670 fire-setting was used. Fires were set against the rock face and then cooled down by water, causing the stone to fracture. Since this method required ventilation, adits had to be built. The one from Saggrenda to the King's Mine was built in 1782. It was mostly Germans workers who worked in the mines, especially from Sachsen and Harz. Therefore several mines got names such as Segen Gottes and Gottes Hülfe in der Noth. Kongsberg Silver Mines had its peak between 1750 and 1780. In the 1770s over 4,000 people worked in the mines.
Extensions and Mining Railway
After several years with few discoveries being made, mining terminated in 1805. It was reestablished the year after. In 1836 Kristian's Adit was extended to Gottes Hülfe in der Noth. A southbound adit was started from Armen Mine in 1841. Next year railways were built in the adits with a track gauge of 600 millimetres. The extension northward from King's Mine towards Gottes Hülfe in der Noth started in 1843. In 1844 a 2.5-kilometre horse-drawn railway was built in Frederik's Adit to the King's Mine. The railway opened in 1882 to Haus Sachsen's Mine after the adit was extended northward. The railway line was now six kilometres long, totally ten with the sidings included. In 1888 an eight-kilometre horse railway in the Underberg Adit was also built with a track gauge of 500 millimetres.
Railway Renovation
In 1912 two petrol locomotives were purchased, one for Kristian's Adit and another for the Underberg Adit. Next year two extra locomotives were bought and a locomotive shed was built outside the entrance of Underberg Adit. The track gauge in Kristian's Adit was widened to 810 millimetres. Old trolleys were rebuilt to passenger wagons suitable for eight workers. Even though the track in the Underberg Adit had many curves and elevations, the new locomotives managed to pull as many as 12 wagons with a speed of 10 kilometres an hour.
Closure and Mining Museum
On 17 March 1957 the Parliament decided to close Kongsberg Silver Mines due to fallen siver prices. When the mines closed next year, 300 mining entrances with a total length of 1,000 kilometers had been built since the beginning as well as 23 kilometres of railway. In 2003 the mines were listed as a cultural heritage. Today Kongsberg Silver Mines is a museum run by Norsk Bergverksmuseum. Tourists can take a mining train 2.3 kilometres from Saggrenda to the King's Mine through Kristian's Adit.