David Mine
Former coal mine in Wałbrzych, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, Poland
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The David Mine (Davidgrube; after 1950 also known as Tytus) was an underground bituminous-coal mine in the Konradów district of Wałbrzych, in Lower Silesia.[1] From 1907 it was worked together with the neighbouring Fuchs Mine, and in the 20th century became part of the wider Fuchs–David mining complex of the Waldenburg coal district.[1][2] Its best-known surviving remnant is the reinforced-concrete headframe of the Tytus shaft, erected in 1924 and described by the National Heritage Board of Poland as a pioneering structure in the Lower Silesian coal basin.[1]
Bahnhof – Davidsgrube | |
  David Mine | |
| Location | |
|---|---|
| Location | Wałbrzych |
| Voivodeship | Lower Silesian Voivodeship |
| Country | Poland |
| Coordinates | 50°47′36.7″N 16°14′28.6″E |
| Production | |
| Products | Bituminous coal |
| Type | Underground |
| History | |
| Opened | 1789 |
| Closed | 1960s |
History
Origins and growth
According to the National Heritage Board of Poland, the mine was granted in 1789 under the name David and enlarged in 1868.[1] By the late 19th century it was being worked together with the mining fields Emilie Anna, Davids Zubehör, Erwünschte Zukunft and Reinhold.[1]
The mine belonged to the Wałbrzych (Waldenburg) hard-coal district, one of the principal mining regions of Lower Silesia.[2] In 1907, most shares of the David company were acquired by the Fuchs union, after which David was worked jointly with Fuchs while retaining its historic name.[1]
Before the First World War
In 1912, David produced 165,293 tonnes of coal.[1] The same official heritage record also gives earlier production figures of 16,000 tonnes in 1840 and 3,000 tonnes in 1858, illustrating the mine's uneven but ultimately substantial development during the 19th century.[1]
By the interwar period the former David workings formed one operating division within the larger Fuchs enterprise. A 1938 survey of Silesian mines lists the Titus shaft of the former Davidgrube as 152 m deep and identifies the Davidgrube as the fourth operating division of the consolidated Fuchs group.[3]
Interwar modernization
In 1920 the combined Fuchs–David concern passed into the ownership of Kokswerke und Chemische Fabriken A.G., a company linked to the Schering group in Berlin.[1][2] Four years later, in 1924, the slim reinforced-concrete headframe of the Tytus shaft was built.[1] The structure combined a reinforced-concrete frame with the hoisting machine placed in the head of the tower, a solution regarded by the National Heritage Board as innovative for the Lower Silesian basin.[1]
Post-war period
After 1945 the shaft periodically served as an auxiliary shaft of the Thorez Mine.[1] In 1950 the name David was replaced, as part of the Thorez complex, by the name Tytus.[1] Toward the end of the 1960s the Tytus shaft was taken out of service, sealed, and stripped of its technical equipment; the coal-screening plant and the elevated conveyor connection to the headframe were demolished in 1980.[1]
Legacy
Part of the surface complex survives and is protected as industrial heritage. The National Heritage Board records the Tytus shaft ensemble at Kopalniana Street in Wałbrzych, including the shaft tower and associated buildings such as the lamp room, bathhouse and check-in building.[1] The shaft tower remains one of the most distinctive survivals of the former David Mine and of coal mining in the Konradów area.[1]
Material ropeway
The Gustav-David Material Ropeway was an arial lift connecting the David Mine with the railway.
Literature
- Eufrozyna Piątek, Historia kopalni węgla kamiennego „Julia” [Fuchs, Biały Kamień, Thorez].
- Die schlesischen Bergwerke. Kattowitz, 1938.