REALIZATIONS

A Few Words About the History of the "Queen Louise" Adit:

In the late 18th century, a mining engineer named Salomon Issac was brought to Upper Silesia from Brabant. Under the direction of the then-director of the Higher Mining Authority, he conducted geological research in the areas of present-day Zabrze and Chorzów. In 1790, he discovered coal deposits in the Czarniawka River valley and in the village of Łagiewniki.

Thanks to these newly discovered deposits, it was decided to build one of the first state-owned coal mines in Upper Silesia on the land of today's Zabrze. Work on extracting the "black gold" began as early as 1791, with the mine initially named "Royal." In 1811, it was renamed "Königin Luise Grube" ("Queen Louise") in memory of the wife of King Frederick Wilhelm IV, who had passed away the previous year.

The mine’s early years were marked by struggles to deal with the inflow of water into the workings, which hindered or even prevented miners from working. Initially, water was removed using buckets or horse-powered water wheels. Even a steam engine brought in to power the drainage pumps proved insufficient.

The Queen Louise Mine became one of the largest and most modern coal mines in the history of Silesian coal mining. From its founding in 1791, the mine expanded rapidly, by 1816 producing 25% of all coal mined in Silesia. In 1842, following the opening of the first deep shaft, "Dechen," coal deposits lying below the level of the Main Key Heritage Adit were mined. In 1846, the mine received one of the first railway sidings in Silesia, allowing coal to be transported to distant customers. In the 1850s, new shafts were established, including Carnall (renamed Zabrze II after 1945) and "Prinz Schönaich."

Revitalization of the "Queen Louise" Adit:

The opening of the entire Adit Complex to tourists in 2018 was the result of mining and construction work that began in 2009 and concluded in 2018 with the launch of the tourist water route. The main goal of this project was to preserve the mining heritage of the region by adapting and revitalizing the complex for cultural, educational, and tourism purposes.

The revitalization process involved a pioneering undertaking: accessing and making available the historic, over 200-year-old workings of the Main Key Heritage Adit and restoring the underground corridors of the Queen Louise Mine.

After clearing key ventilation shafts in 2012, work began on removing silt from the Adit.

Due to the unique and historical nature of the underground spaces, the work was carried out using traditional, manual techniques. Clearing was done by drilling and using Dynacen expansive material to prevent damage to the historic steam hoisting machine. Once the Adit was cleared and connected to the Carnall shaft, it became possible to install a new Becker Warkop suspended rail system to mechanize and speed up the revitalization work.

The general contractor and equipment supplier, including the suspended rail system, was KG Construction sp. zo.o