Insights into the world underground

HÜCKELHOVEN. A museum is often a place where a view is thrown back in time. The lives of people and their living environment and is issued by, gives a glimpse of the living today and makes a comparison to. GER has a special museum since 1997.

INFO ABOUT MINING
The museum is open to the Ludovicistraße 1 in Hueckelhoven on every second Sunday of the month 11 to 15 clock and every Wednesday from 18 clock.

Admission is free.

More information is available on the Internet at the address

The operators have named it after their club name: Museum of Minerals and mining eV friends in the city Hueckelhoven



120 members of the association, on the younger junior members would be happy. "On 23 January 1997 was the founding meeting of 13 interested parties, who founded the club as minerals and mining friends in order to maintain the interest in the mining tradition, "says Franz Janke, one of the founding members and 2 Chairman of the association.

"With the support of the city Hueckelhoven that gives us the space available, we were able to build a small, but beautiful and fully equipped museum with valuable exhibits from the fields of minerals and mining in the last 15 years," adds Matthias Schmitz, who first Chairman.

Both are former miners who worked at the mine and Sophia Jacoba knowledgeable can inform visitors about the exhibits in the field of mining. So to see both a pit bike for rail operation, on which a stylishly dressed and properly equipped miner is seen. It was planned to use for the electrician or locksmith underground so that it got there quickly enough to the changing distant locations. Similarly, a life-size figure to see with protective clothing and breathing apparatus of the former mine rescue, the dangerous underground work was often necessary.

Thus, a niche is the patron saint, St. Barbara, built as a memorial site to the more than 600 deaths over the years to the mine in the entryway. Not least, the museum in the mining department has a collection of different colored helmets - from simple leather helmet to helmet still in use today - as well as a collection of mining lamps, powered by the first fuel-powered to today's battery. You can imagine that the workplace was a very arduous.

"Although many of the exhibits are active members of the Association, we are proud that we got all the private collections from estates. Thus, for example, the miner's lamp collection by Udo Sarkowski from Myhl, the mineral collection of Walter White, a former professor of the mountain customer from Marburg, or the collection of fossils from the Tertiary (geological era beginning 65 million years ago) by Günter Liebau from GER-Doverern with fossils from the Colliery Sophia-Jacoba on shaft 8 "at Matzerath says Schmitz and enthusiasm for the successful with the museum bridge between coal mining work then and today's presentation of the fossils from the mine and the minerals from the environment and from localities in other parts Germany and around the world is to be noted him.


"Eighty percent of the minerals and fossils are even looking for, the rest are in exchange or purchased," Janke describes their dedication. He does not refer without permission on one of the largest found cockle-fossil, which he found on slot 8 of the Sophia-Jacoba mine and which is now displayed in a showcase. Refer to some rarities with permission, the two board members and appoint this expert as Millerite, Pyrite, dolomite, sphalerite and quartz crystals.

An exhibit stands out particularly by Frank Janke and is made visible with a magnifying lens: on top of a rock crystal collection is a cross to be seen. "Others have their crosses mounted on the tops, we have our cross found underground," Matthias Schmitz aptly.

In illuminated showcases the minerals are exposed and glisten in the light of the spotlights or fluorescent in black light and UV light yellowish, reddish and bluish. "This inspires the children to visit in groups from preschool to the tenth school year our museum," Schmitz adds and reported to that about 15 to 20 groups in also look at some microscope courses under the guidance of the crystalline structures of micro minerals .

The work of the miner is no longer seen in our region, but next year there are just one hundred years ago that the first coal was mined at Sophia-Jacoba, the last Lore was born on 17 March 1997 from the deep transported upwards. With the end of the mine 16 years ago, the profession of miner here is no longer perceptible - but at least a glimpse into the world underground allows fine little museum in GER.