Berggeschrey

Last updated October 03, 2019

Berggeschrey or Berggeschrei ("mining clamour") was a German term for the rapid spread of news on the discovery of rich ore deposits^[1] that led to the rapid establishment of a mining region, as in the silver rush in the early days of silver ore mining in the Ore Mountains. It is similar in some respects to the gold rush in North America.

A silver rush is the silver-mining equivalent of a gold rush, where the discovery of silver-bearing ore sparks a mass migration of individuals seeking wealth in the new mining region.

Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef or placer deposit. These deposits form a mineralized package that is of economic interest to the miner.

The Ore Mountains or Ore Mountain Range in Central Europe have formed a natural border between Saxony and Bohemia for around 800 years, from the 12th to the 20th centuries. Today, the border between Germany and the Czech Republic runs just north of the main crest of the mountain range. The highest peaks are the Klínovec, which rises to 1,244 metres (4,081 ft) above sea level and the Fichtelberg.

First Berggeschrey

1522 depiction of the historic mining industry on Annaberg's mining altar Annaberger-Bergaltar2.jpg — 1522 depiction of the historic mining industry on Annaberg's mining altar

Even as the first settlements were established there were small finds tin, iron and copper.

Tin Chemical element with atomic number 50

Tin is a chemical element with the symbol Sn (from Latin: stannum) and atomic number 50. Tin is a silvery metal that characteristicly has a faint yellow hue. Tin, like indium, is soft enough to be cut without much force. When a bar of tin is bent the so-called "tin cry" can be heard as a result of sliding tin crystals reforming; this trait is shared by indium, cadmium and frozen mercury. Pure tin after solidifying keeps a mirror-like appearance similar to most metals. However, in most tin alloys (such as pewter) the metal solidifies with a dull gray color. Tin is a post-transition metal in group 14 of the periodic table of elements. It is obtained chiefly from the mineral cassiterite, which contains stannic oxide, SnO₂. Tin shows a chemical similarity to both of its neighbors in group 14, germanium and lead, and has two main oxidation states, +2 and the slightly more stable +4. Tin is the 49th most abundant element on Earth and has, with 10 stable isotopes, the largest number of stable isotopes in the periodic table, thanks to its magic number of protons. It has two main allotropes: at room temperature, the stable allotrope is β-tin, a silvery-white, malleable metal, but at low temperatures, it transforms into the less dense grey α-tin, which has the diamond cubic structure. Metallic tin does not easily oxidize in air.

Iron is a chemical element with symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal, that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is by mass the most common element on Earth, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust.

Copper Chemical element with atomic number 29

Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish-orange color. Copper is used as a conductor of heat and electricity, as a building material, and as a constituent of various metal alloys, such as sterling silver used in jewelry, cupronickel used to make marine hardware and coins, and constantan used in strain gauges and thermocouples for temperature measurement.

But when, in 1168, rich silver finds were discovered in the area of Freiberg, it precipitated the First Berggeschrey. Upon hearing the news of rich silver deposits miners, traders, charcoal burners and vagabonds quickly poured into this, at that time, inhospitable area. "Where a man wants to look for ore, he is allowed to do so with rights" the Margrave of Meissen, owner of the rights to use the mountain (mining rights), had asserted to the settlers flooding into the area. In order to settle the miners, who mostly came from the Harz Mountains, they were exempt from the feudal obligations to their landlords and so were able to devote themselves entirely to their work. However they had to pay a direct tax in the form of a mining tithe (Bergzehnt) to their local lords.

Though the actual definitions vary between jurisdictions, in general, a direct tax is a tax imposed upon a person or property as distinct from a tax imposed upon a transaction, which is described as an indirect tax. The term may be used in economic and political analyses, but does not itself have any legal implications. However, in the United States, the term has special constitutional significance because of a provision in the U.S. Constitution that any direct taxes imposed by the national government be apportioned among the states on the basis of population. In the European Union direct taxation remains the sole responsibility of member states.

Second or Great Berggeschrey

Over the course of the centuries, the search for ore extended to the crests of the Ore Mountains. In 1470, three hundred years after the First Berggeschrey, rich silver ore deposits were discovered in Schneeberg ^[2] and in 1491/92 on the Schreckenberg in present-day Annaberg-Buchholz. This news resulted in the Second Berggeschrey, which was also known as the Great Berggeschrey. Feverish mining activity and the associated influx of people from other regions spread to the whole Ore Mountains. By the end of the 15th century it was much more densely populated than hitherto. It was at that time that the mining towns of Jáchymov (Sankt Joachimsthal), Annaberg, Buchholz, Schneeberg and Marienberg emerged.

Schreckenberg is a mountain of Saxony, southeastern Germany.

Annaberg-Buchholz is a town in the Free State of Saxony, Germany. Lying in the Ore Mountains, it is the capital of the district of Erzgebirgskreis.

Jáchymov, until 1945 known by its German name of Sankt Joachimsthal or Joachimsthal is a spa town in the Karlovy Vary Region of Bohemia, now part of the Czech Republic. It is situated at an altitude of 733 m (2,405 ft) above sea level in the eponymous St. Joachim's valley in the Ore Mountains, close to the Czech border with Germany.

Third Berggeschrei

Parts of the Old Town of Johanngeorgenstadt had to be demolished and afforested in 1953 due to subsidence MarktplatzJGStadt.jpg — Parts of the Old Town of Johanngeorgenstadt had to be demolished and afforested in 1953 due to subsidence

In the post-war years from 1946 onwards, almost eight hundred years after the First Berggeschrey, activity comparable to the gold rush broke out again in the Ore Mountains as a result of uranium ore mining by the SDAG Wismut. This is nicknamed the Drittes Bergeschrei ("Third Bergeschrei"), using the modern German spelling of the word Bergeschrey. As a result of the rapid and reckless boom the population grew sharply in several places (see e. g. Johanngeorgenstadt ). Especially in the early days of the Wismut mining operation considerable damage was done to the environment, historic village centres and infrastructure (e.g. spa house and facilities of the internationally renowned Schlema radium spa) were destroyed and there were serious health problems amongst the Wismut miners at the time.

A miner is a person who extracts ore, coal, or other mineral from the earth through mining. There are two senses in which the term is used. In its narrowest sense, a miner is someone who works at the rock face; cutting, blasting, or otherwise working and removing the rock. In a broader sense, a "miner" is anyone working within a mine, not just a worker at the rock face.

Apart from silver and uranium, tin, iron, copper, arsenic, lead, cobalt, nickel, bismuth (Wismut), tungsten and zinc were mined in the Ore Mountains.

Uranium Chemical element with atomic number 92

Uranium is a chemical element with the symbol U and atomic number 92. It is a silvery-grey metal in the actinide series of the periodic table. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons. Uranium is weakly radioactive because all isotopes of uranium are unstable; the half-lives of its naturally occurring isotopes range between 159,200 years and 4.5 billion years. The most common isotopes in natural uranium are uranium-238 and uranium-235. Uranium has the highest atomic weight of the primordially occurring elements. Its density is about 70% higher than that of lead, and slightly lower than that of gold or tungsten. It occurs naturally in low concentrations of a few parts per million in soil, rock and water, and is commercially extracted from uranium-bearing minerals such as uraninite.

Arsenic is a chemical element with the symbol As and atomic number 33. Arsenic occurs in many minerals, usually in combination with sulfur and metals, but also as a pure elemental crystal. Arsenic is a metalloid. It has various allotropes, but only the gray form, which has a metallic appearance, is important to industry.

Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cut, lead is silvery with a hint of blue; it tarnishes to a dull gray color when exposed to air. Lead has the highest atomic number of any stable element and three of its isotopes are endpoints of major nuclear decay chains of heavier elements.

Post German-reunification

After the political Wende mining operations by SDAG Wismut were shut down completely after 1990. It had been the largest employer and the most important economic factor in the region. Today, the pits of the lime works in the Lengefeld village of Kalkwerk represent the last working mine using mineshafts in the state of Saxony on the northern side of the Ore Mountains. The whole Ore Mountain Mining Region (Montanregion Erzgebirge) with its above-ground mining facilities, show mines, technical monuments, mining education paths and the traditions of local people are witnesses to these three key epochs in mining history.

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References

↑ Geschrei 1 c) im Deutschen Wörterbuch by Jakob and Wilhelm Grimm, Hirzel, Leipzig 1854-1960, Vol. 5, Sp. 3965
↑ "Zwickauer Stadtchronik". Archived from the original on 2010-11-24. Retrieved 2011-02-12.

Sources

Siegfried Sieber (1954), Zur Geschichte des erzgebirgischen Bergbaues (in German), Halle (Saale): Wilhelm-Knapp-Verlag, p. 135

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[1] Geschrei 1 c) im Deutschen Wörterbuch by Jakob and Wilhelm Grimm, Hirzel, Leipzig 1854-1960, Vol. 5, Sp. 3965

[2] "Zwickauer Stadtchronik". Archived from the original on 2010-11-24. Retrieved 2011-02-12.