Cultural Monuments of the Rosice-Oslavany Industrial Area

The aim of the publication “Cultural Monuments of the Rosice-Oslavany Industrial Area” is to provide an overview of the area’s cultural heritage sites which are legally protected by Act no. 20 / 1987 on heritage conservation, and which thus have the status of “cultural monuments” (in Czech “kulturní památky”). The book also gives details of formerly important sites and technologies which are now partly or entirely defunct, consisting of technological fragments or the remnants of former sites.

The publication is organized in order to enable readers to acquire an understanding of complex historical developments and to grasp the interconnections between various aspects of the area’s cultural heritage. The chapter on the history of the area outlines the development of the local mining industry (including relevant information on geography and geology) and shows how coal mining was stimulated by the building of railways, which boosted demand for coal and enabled it to be transported over longer distances. The authors also describe the various local industries which used the Rosice-Oslavany coal – the coking industry, unsuccessful attempts to produce iron, production of fuel briquettes, and the extensive use of lower-grade coal to produce electricity.

Contents:

INTRODUCTION 11

DESCRIPTION OF THE ROSICE-OSLAVANY COALFIELD 13

• Location and terrain 13
• Geological conditions 14

HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE ROSICE-OSLAVANY INDUSTRIAL AREA 17

THE DEVELOPMENT OF MINING IN THE ROSICE-OSLAVANY BASIN 17

• The beginnings of mining 17
• The first discovery of coal 18
• Adit mining and shallow mining in various parts of the coalfield 20
• The southern part of the coalfield 20
• The southernmost part of the coalfield (Oslavany-Dolina)21
• The central part of the coalfield 21
• The northern part of the coalfield 22
• The transition to deep mining and the sinking of “second-depth” shafts 24
• Growing demand for coal, the opening of the Mining Railway and the foundation of ironworks 26
• The foundation of a large mining company 27
• Modernization and a growth in extraction – the contribution of Jaroslav Jičínský 28
• The First World War and post-war developments – the definitive merger of the mining companies 29
• Deeper mining and the “cascade” system 30
• The Second World War 32
• The nationalization of the mines and post-war developments 33
• Geological surveys of the basin 34
• Extraction of previously abandoned coal deposits  35
• General reconstruction of the coalfield 35
• The closure of the mines 36
• The development of coke production 37
• The development of rail transport 40
• The construction of the Brno-Rosice Railway 40
• The construction of the branch line 41
• The transformation of a local line to a transit line 42
• The Bohemian-Moravian Transversal Railway 42
• The Kounice–Ivančice–Oslavany local line 43
• Electrification and the development of power generation 44
• The beginnings of electrification 44
• The Oslavany power plant 45
• “General-purpose enterprises” and systematic electrification 46
• The nationalization of power generation and post-war developments 47
• The development of heritage conservation and the evaluation of industrial heritage 47

TECHNICAL AND ARCHITECTURAL DEVELOPMENT 53

• Coal mining 53
• Mining methods 53
• Surface mining methods 53
• Shallow mining methods 54
• Deep mining methods 54
• Bord and pillar mining (breast stoping, underhand stoping) 56
• The “honeycomb” method 56
• Longwall mining (the “Piňos method”) 56
• Mechanization of extraction 57
• Manual tools 57
• Mechanization of extraction 57
•                 Pneumatic drills 57
•                 Cutting machines 58
•                 Shearers (power loaders) 58
• Horizontal mine transport 58
• Transport in adits and shallow mines 58
• Transport at the coal face and gate roads 58
• Rail lines 59
•    Horse-drawn transport 60
•    Mine locomotives 60
• Suspended transport systems and belt-conveyer systems 60
• Vertical mine transport and hoists 61
• Hand winches 61
• Horse-drawn winches (gins) 61
• Steam-driven hoists 62
• Drum hoists 63
• Friction hoists (Koepe system) 63
• Electric hoists 63
• Pit-head buildings 65
• L-shaped pit-head buildings 65
• I-shaped pit-head buildings 65
• T-shaped pit-head buildings 65
• Free-standing pit-head buildings 65
• Winding towers (headframes) 66
• Brick winding towers 67
• Pyramid winding towers 68
• English-type trestle winding towers 68
• German-type strut-supported winding towers 71
• Winding towers with a raised engine hall 71
• Power generation 71
• Coal-fired power plants 71
• Coal and water supply 71
• Boilers and boiler rooms 72
• Turbomachines and engine halls 72
• Steam turbines 72
• Alternators / generators 75
• Distribution networks, switching stations, power lines (VHV, HV, LV) 75
• Distribution networks 75
• Rail transport 76
• Passenger buildings, station buildings 76
• Engine-houses and depots 78
• Water stations 79
• Guardhouses 80

CATALOGUE OF COMPANIES AND MINING ENTREPRENEURS 82

• Bauer, Aron, Moritz Johann, Viktor 83
• Innerberg Mining Company (k.k. privilegierte Innerberger Hauptgewerkschaft) 84
• Austrian State Railway Corporation (k.k. privilegierte Staats-Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft, StEG)
• K.u.k. privilegierte österreichisch-ungarische Staats-Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft
• k.k. österreichische Staatsbahnen (StB) 84
• k.k. privilegierte Canal und Bergbau Compagnie (Canal and Mining Company 85
• Ferdinand Northern Railway (k.k. ausschliesslich privilegierte Kaiser Ferdinands-Nordbahn (KFNB) 85
• Brno-Rosice Railway (k.k. ausschliesslich privilegierte Brünn-Rossitzer Eisenbahn, BRE) 85
• Czechoslovak State Railways (Československé státní dráhy, ČSD)
• Bohemian-Moravian Railways (Českomoravské dráhy, ČMD / Böhmisch-Mährische Bahn)
• Czech Railways (České dráhy, ČD) 85
• Herring, Johann Ritter von, Johann Ernst 86
• Jenich, Josef 86
• Jičínský Jaroslav, Prof. Ing. Dr. Mont. h.c. 87      
• Klein, Franz, Franz I, Franz II, Franz III, Albert, Hubert, Friedrich 88
• Küttner, Benedikt 89
• Locker, Friedrich 89
• Löhner, Ferdinand 90
• Lorenzi, Alois 91
• Müller, Johann Baptist, Anna, Anton, Ferdinand, Johann Daniel, Johann, Franz and Theodor /
• Müller Mining Company (Müllerische Gewerkschaft) 91
• Oslavany estate 93
• Rahn, Adam, Anton I, Anton II, Heinrich I, Heinrich II 94
• Austrian Electricity Supply Company (Oesterreichische Elektrizitäts-Lieferungs-Aktien-Gesellschaft, OELAG) 95
• Austrian Alpine Mining Company (Österreichisch-Alpine Montangesellschaft) 95
• Riedl, Franz 96
• Rittler, Ferdinand, Franz, Julius, Hugo 96
• Rosice Mining Company (Rossitzer Bergbaugesellschaft, RBS / Rosická báňská společnost) 96
• Rosice-Láska Boží Mining Company (Rosická báňská společnost Láska boží, a.s. / Rossitzer Bergbaugesellschaft Liebe Gottes) 98
• West Moravian Power Plants Company / Rossitzer Elektrizitäts-Werke /
• Západomoravské elektrárny / Westmährische Elektrizitätswerke / ČEZ 98
• Rosice estate 99
• Rosice Ironworks Company (Rossitzer Eisen Hütten Gewerkschaft) 99
• Rosice Coal Mines (Rosické uhelné doly, národní podnik) 100
• Francisci Gewerkschaft / Franziska Zeche Gewerkschaft 100
• Gottesliebe Gewerkschaft 101
• Mutter Gottes Gewerkschaft 101
• Ritter von Baratta & Co. Mining Company (Bergbaugesellschaft Ritter von Baratta u. Comp.) 101
• Ritter von Herring & Co. Mining Company (Bergbaugesellschaft Ritter von Herring u. Comp.)102
• St Francis Mining Company (Sankt Francisci Gewerkschaft)
• / Smetana Leopold, Franz, Johann, Michael 102
• Holy Trinity Mining Company (Sankt Dreifaltigkeit Gewerkschaft) 102
• Thomerer, Johann Augustin 103
• Uhlig, Christian Gotthelf, Mariana 103
• Allgemeine Elektrizitäts-Gesellschaft-Union (AEG-Union) 104

CATALOGUE OF CULTURAL MONUMENTS AND HERITAGE SITES 105

• Cadastral district Brno – railway structures 105
• Main station – “Oberer Bahnhof” / “Staatsbahnhof”, “Oberer Bahnhof” 105
• Rosice station / Rossitzerbahnhof, “lower station” 107
• Cadastral district Horní Heršpice – station 112
• Level junction 112
• Passenger building 112
• Cadastral district Oslavany – Hereditary adit 115
• Cadastral district Oslavany - Kukla / Václav Nosek Colliery 116
• Cadastral district Oslavany – Oslavany power plant 121
• Cadastral district Oslavany – Werkhof (Havírna) 128
• Cadastral district Padochov – Franziska (Františka) Collier 130
• Cadastral district Střelice – station 135
• Cadastral district Zastávka (Segen Gottes) – Herring Colliery 136
• Cadastral district Zastávka (Segen Gottes) – Julius Colliery 138
• Cadastral district Zastávka (Segen Gottes) - station 142
• Cadastral district Zastávka (Segen Gottes) – residential buildings 144
• Amaliengrund / “Old colony” 144
• “Ironworks colony” 146
• “New colony” 146
• “Martin colony” 146
• Kasárna (“Bunk-house”) 149
• Cadastral district Zastávka - ironworks 148
• Cadastral district Zbýšov - Jindřich II Colliery 154
• Cadastral district Zbýšov - Na Láně / Samson / Simson Colliery 158
• Cadastral district Zbýšov – residential buildings 164
• Rahn “colony”, “lower colony” (“dolní kolonie”) 164
• “Upper colony” (“horní kolonie”) 164
• “Na Láně” building, “Müller colony” 166
• Majrov “colony” 166
• Cadastral district Zbýšov - railway

Register of mine workings in the Rosice-Oslavany coalfield 168

Register of railway sidings in the Rosice-Oslavany industrial area 176

Register of cableways in the Rosice-Oslavany industrial area 178

Register of coking plants in the Rosice-Oslavany industrial area 180

Map appendix to the registers of mine workings, railway sidings, cableways and coking plants 183

Literature and sources 188

Literature 188

Sources 192