Siebengründer Graben

The Siebengründer Graben is a mining ditch that was constructed in 1903/1904 in the Lower Harz in central Germany. Today, it is dry.

History

The Kochsgraben was completed in 1724. In the course of the decline of mining in the Straßberg area of the Harz Mountains the ditch was initially extended by the section known as the Anhaltischer or Langer Graben in the Neudorf Mining Field. After mining ceased there in 1903, the section to Neudorf was closed and the Kochs Graben extended for the last time.

As a result of the new section, called the Siebengründer Graben, the Siebengrund bottom, the catchment area of the Teufelsteich reservoir was linked to the Lower Harz Pond and Ditch System. In addition to the Teufelsteich pond, the Fürstenteich and the Silberhütter Pochwerksteich were also now supplied with water from the Lude stream and the Rödelbachgraben. The entire ditch was renamed as the Silberhütter Kunstgraben, although it was no longer a true Kunstgraben, because there were no longer any mining facilities to be driven by it.

When the silverworks in Silberhütte went bankrupt in 1937, the ditch was used to generate electricity until 1939 and was then drained dry.

Sources

• Das Unterharzer Teich- und Grabensystem
• Wilfried Ließmann: Historischer Bergbau im Harz. 3. Auflage. Springer, Berlin 1997, ISBN 978-3-540-31327-4