Red Baron's Blog: Goslar

Red Baron had been to Goslar several times, but during the Museumsreise 2015, we visited two sites I had yet to see. One was the Rammelsberg, i.e., the mining activity in and outside; the other was the Kaiserpfalz (Imperial Palace).

The Rammelsberg houses an ore mine that has been operational for over 1,000 years. Tracer analysis of archeological samples unearthed as far away as England shows that copper from the Rammelsberg mine dates back to the 3rd century AD. The mine eventually closed in 1988.

We continue to read in Wikipedia: The ore deposits at the Rammelsberg were caused by the escape of hot, metal-bearing, thermal springs on the seafloor in the Devonian period. This formation is referred to as a sedimentary exhaustive deposit. At the bottom of the Devonian sea, two large ore lenses formed and were later caught up in the folding of rocks during the Carboniferous period, so they lie overturned at an angle in the mountain where they reach the surface.

One of the main mining problems, particularly in the Harz mountains, is groundwater entering the galleries. When the floor of the mining galleries reaches levels well below the earth's surface, it becomes necessary to pump out infiltrating water. In the absence of electricity, the miners installed giant overshot waterwheels underground to operate the required water pumps.

Giant underground waterwheel (©Wikipedia/pipmaru)

The wheels were driven by water collected in special, higher-up ponds. The water was guided in dedicated water galleries to and from the waterwheels' site and finally released into the valley.

The old water galleries of the Röder mine, where our group walked through
were relatively narrow and sometimes somewhat low

Red Baron's safety helmet clearly shows traces of his head hitting the ceiling.

In the meantime, the Rammelsberg mine has become an archaeological site. It started in 1999 when a shoe was found on-site, dated 1024. In 2011, archeologists excavated a wooden structure identified as Europe's earliest mining gallery, supported by wooden pillars and beams.

Archeologist Dr. Klappauf standing in front of his excavation

Painting in Goslar's Municipal Museum: Dr. Klappauf stepping on the bellows
of an artisanal smelting furnace. This archaeologist has recently dug out
a few thousand smelting sites in the Harz region dating as far back as the Middle Ages.

Goslar's other highlight, the Imperial Palace, is strongly connected with the mining activity at the Rammelsberg. In 1005, attracted by silver, King Henry II had his Kaiserpfalz built at the foot of the mountain. It comprised a vast complex of buildings, including a large abbey church containing an Imperial Throne and the so-called Krodo Altar, both made from bronze in the second half of the 11th century.

The renovated Kaiserpfalz in the 19th century

By the middle of the 13th century, the Imperial Residence buildings had begun to fall into ruin. Eventually, the church was reduced to just one entrance hall. However, the ill-fated alliance of the throne and the altar in German history ended neither then nor with the Reformation. On the contrary, Luther's Church needed and sought the support of the territorial princes not only against the Catholic Counter-Reformation but also against Protestant heretics.

In the second half of the 19th century, Goslar's Prussian rulers had the Imperial Palace reconstructed as a national shrine. They accelerated the building activity following the foundation of the 2nd Reich in 1871. Hence, the former Kaisersaal is decorated with wall paintings commemorating events in German history. Again, Luther's Reformation is one of the key events for Germany's "Prussian" north.

Luther in Worms: God help me, Amen

However, the centerpiece of all the paintings is the apotheosis of the Kaiserreich (Empire), dated 1875.

It shows the "new" Kaiser Wilhelm on horseback, followed by his son, Friedrich, who, in 1888, was emperor for only 99 days. The later Wilhelm II, Friedrich's son, is depicted as a boy on the right-hand side, in a blue uniform, in an awkward pose, partly obscured by the pillar, perhaps to hide his crippled left arm? In such an allegorical painting, you expect Bismarck to stand with General Moltke, the former hammering on the new Reich's cornerstone. The presentation is crowned by, among others, Emperor Barbarossa and Prussia's Joan of Arc, Queen Louise, who points to her son, Wilhelm, the new emperor. In front of the painting, you will recognize Dame Germania and Father Rhine with the annexation of Alsace, now Germany's river and no longer Germany's border.