Grube Bendisberg

About the museum

Lead and zinc ores were mined early on in the Nitzbach valley near St. Jost and Virneburg. The Grube Bendisberg itself was developed by a Dutch company from 1900; after the processing plant burned down on Christmas night 1903, operations soon came to a standstill. The ore veins, which formed during the folding of the Rhenish Massif around 330 to 300 million years ago, mainly yielded sphalerite (zinc blende) and silver-bearing galena.

In 1937 the AG des Altenbergs reopened the mine as part of the German Reich's drive for self-sufficiency, sank a blind shaft and explored the veins at depth – with disappointing results, so that operations were suspended at the end of 1940. After a renewed mining phase from 1949, the deposit was exhausted; mining ended for good on May 11, 1957.

The Tiefer Eisenheldstollen (deep adit) was reopened from 2003 and the Mittlerer Eisenheldstollen (middle adit) in 2004. In 2005 the municipality of Langenfeld acquired the mine, and a friends' association was founded the same year. With considerable support from former miners from the Lower Rhine region, the show mine was created, complete with visitor building, lamp room and exhibition area.

Today volunteer mine guides lead visitors through three adits lying one above the other. In addition to the standard tour in the Mittlerer Eisenheldstollen, there are more demanding tours via a spiral staircase with around 270 steps into the deep adit, to the upper adit, and with a descent into a 32-meter-deep shaft.

Highlights

• Standard tour of around 600 meters in the Mittlerer Eisenheldstollen
• Ore veins with sphalerite, galena and sinter formations
• Former machine chamber at the 80-meter-deep blind shaft
• Adventure tours with an Arschleder (miner's leather seat apron) or shaft descent
• Exhibition with minerals, tools and a mine model

Permanent exhibitions

• Standardführung Mittlerer Eisenheldstollen – Guided tour through around 600 meters of adit, with explanations of how the ore veins formed, mining techniques and the miners' daily working life.

Operated by

Förderverein Grube Bendisberg e. V. (Eigentümerin: Ortsgemeinde Langenfeld)

Admission & discounts

Prices apply to the standard tour in the Mittlerer Eisenheldstollen; for special tours see extra tickets (adults and young people).

Accessibility

• Partially wheelchair accessible
• Elevator: no information
• Accessible restroom: no information
• Accessible parking: no information
• Service dogs welcome: no information
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

According to the Vulkanpark, partially suitable for wheelchairs. The special tours require good fitness (spiral staircase with around 270 steps, switchback path, ladders); not suitable for people with heart conditions or claustrophobia.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops

Dwarf tour for families: children look for hidden dwarfs in the tunnel, ride the mine cart, and are christened a miner's apprentice. Children under 13 can only enter the Mittlerer Eisenheld-Stollen (standard tour); the temperature in the tunnel is around 8 °C.

Getting there & parking

GPS destination "Sankt-Joster-Mühle"; approach via the A 48 (exit Mayen) or the A 61 (exit Wehr).

Amenities & dining

• Café

Bergmannshütte (miners' hut) with refreshments on selected Sundays and public holidays, breakfast on certain dates by advance registration.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this – please ask the museum directly.

Plan your visit