Ottiliae-Schacht

The Ottiliae shaft is located on the western edge of Clausthal-Zellerfeld and is considered an outdoor site of the Oberharz Mining Museum. The former shaft hall can be seen here, as well as the steel winding frame on the former colliery site, which can be seen from afar. From 1878 to 1930, the shaft was one of the central production shafts in Clausthal for zinc, silver and lead ores, and its winding tower is considered to be the oldest preserved in Europe. The shaft served the Clausthal-Zellerfeld mines as a winding shaft for the ores delivered underground on so-called barges. Over a distance of about six kilometres, the ores were delivered to the shaft on underground waterways, whereupon the pit cages were pulled up there by rope to be emptied above ground on the pit bank and transported around the crushing house. From there, the ores were finally transported to the processing plant, which set new standards even in those days.

Already at the beginning of the last century, the facilities of the Ottiliae shaft were among the most modern in Europe, which is certainly one of the reasons why the plant has been so well preserved up to the present day. Together with the winding machine, which is still in working order today, the winding tower is an absolutely unique and therefore worthwhile testimony to industrial history. The Ottiliae shaft in Clausthal-Zellerfeld has belonged to the Upper Harz Mining Museum since 1985, together with the reconstructed daytime winding railway. The shaft is also part of the Rosenhof mine, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and was named after the mining captain Ernst Hermann Ottiliae.

The Ottiliae mine was comprehensively extended and modernised between 1900 and 1905, after the decision was made to establish the deepest waterway to the main and collector haulage road. A new ore processing plant was built, the shaft was sunk to a final depth of 594 metres to the deepest water point and converted to electric Koepe haulage. At the beginning of the 20th century, ore was still brought from the eastern Kaiser Wilhelm II shaft to the Ottiliae shaft for processing.

A ride on the historic daytime winding railway

Walkers in particular will get their money's worth during a visit and a short walk around the shaft complex, as they can learn everything about ore mining in Clausthal-Zellerfeld at that time in addition to the short hike. A special experience is also a ride on the historic one-day pit railway located on the grounds of the Ottiliae shaft. The mine railway runs for a good 2 kilometres along a rail track to the Ottiliae shaft and was used at the time to transport miners to their workplaces underground. So what today is considered a cheerful ride for visitors was anything but pleasant for the miners of the time after a hard day's work.

The starting point of the journey for visitors and tourists is the old railway station in Clausthal-Zellerfeld. The journey on the day-long winding railway ends at the mine shaft, where visitors and tourists can take a closer look at the plant itself as well as the steam and winding engines. A trip on the train can be experienced from 1 May to 31 October every Sunday at 11:00 or 14:30 at a price of 7.00 euros for adults, 3.50 euros for children and 17.00 euros for families. We hope you enjoy your journey into Clausthal's mining history!

Picture sources:
- Winding tower - Heinz-Josef Lücking - Wikimedia Commons - CC3.0
- Company building - JuTe CLZ - Wikimedia Commons - CC4.0
- Information board - Aagnverglaser - Wikimedia Commons - CC4.0
- Overview 1905 - BRFBlake - Wikimedia Commons - CC4.0

Equipment :

Visitor parking