You don’t want to go deep below ground?
Our historic surface facilities are also worth seeing: the Mine House awaits you with an exciting exhibition on mining. Above all, a look into the red and white „Changing Facility“ with the former changing rooms of the miners. All of this give you an authentic impression.
Secure your entry ticket now for an unforgettable surface experience:
Glück Auf!
Be sure to take a look at the so-called Surface Facilities! Our Museum Shop with exclusive souvenirs is housed in the historic Tipping Hall (the ticket desk). The Ore Bunker is also located there. In addition to the Restaurant and Beer Garden, the Mining Museum with the „Changing Facility“ are housed in the Mine´s House (Zechenhaus). Here you can see how the miners used the red and white principle to hang their stuff on the hook. In addition, more modern exhibits explain the basics of mining. Yet, the heart of the mine beats in the „Engine House“ on the upper pit yard: do not miss to watch our machinist at work operating the original carrier of the conveyor basket through the shaft! Here you can watch other visitors driving in the conveyer basket. Nothing works without the conveyor-engine – you surely should see this!
From here and from this point, the mining law applies. The mouth of the adit forms the entrance portal into the underground world of the former iron ore mine. The rails, which are still laying in the ground, are reminiscent of the over 4 million tons of ore rock that was removed in wagons from the mountain between 1849 and 1983. Next to the mouth of the adit, an old conveyor basket is clearly visible, which illustrates how people and material were transported underground during the working hours. Through the mouth of the adit, the path leads first through 160 meters into the mountain before reaching the shaft through which the visitors enter to the 150-meter level below surface.
The Engine House,from which the cable transportation to the 150-meter level and back is still being controlled, dates back to 1958 and is located on the upper pit yard. This is the workplace of the machine´s operator. The machine´s operator ensures the safe transportation of visitors and monitors the entry and exit of the conveyor cage via VDUs. The cable transportation through the machine shaft is performed by a drum carrier with an electric motor. The two hoisting cables (27 millimeters in diameter) run through the openings in the outer wall to the opposite sheave housing, which is directly placed above the shaft. The upper cable carries the conveyor basket through the shaft, and a three-ton counterweight hangs on the other lower cable.
The architectural gem of the Fortuna pit is the old machine house. It originated during the Krupp era of the mine at the beginning of the 20th century. The building stands out with its beautiful tower – the so called „Malakow Tower“ – and through other structural details that are unusual for a functional building. Until a shaft collapsed in 1943, the building at the upper pit yard housed the steam engine with which the mine was formerly operated. The Malakow tower, which is named after Fort Malakow because of its fortress-like architecture, housed the water storage facility for the boiler system which was housed in the neighboring building. Today, this beautiful historical building is being officially listed under the German Monument Protection Law and is being gradually renovated for museum purposes.
From the mouth of the adit of the Fortuna mine lead the tranportation tracks to the ore Processing Hall, which was located on the site opposite of today’s Mine House. The former building complex included also a so-called sink-float-processing facility but only the tipping hall remains today. Here were the wagons emptied that were filled with ore. This was done using compressed air. The iron ore fell into a crusher and was then sieved into various grain sizes. The coveted raw material was then processed further and was later transported to the Lahn Valley Railway Station in Albshausen via cable car. On the site of the former ore processing plant, we will find today the Field and Mine Railway Museum which houses over 50 historical narrow-gauge locomotives.
Around the mine area of the Fortuna Musem, you will find a mining educational hiking trail that invites you on a journey full of advantures. The hiking trail marked with red dots starts at our Mine House and leads you through the upper pit yard passing the new and the old Machine House towards the former opencast mining area of the Fortuna pit. Further, the hiking trail leads you through the mining forest. Here you can reach the pit´s ventilation borehole, which is used to supply the mine with fresh air. Here also you can view the so-called perforated stones, which were once used to mark the borders of the minefields above ground. The various display boards that are available along the hiking trail and at the different stations provide you with valuable information about the history of the mining industry in our area.
