Mining Tradition
Mining leaves its mark not only on miners’ bodies but also on their minds. In former mining areas, a strong identification with mining can still be found today. The Pit Foreman’s Song (Steigerlied) is sung at Christmas markets in the Ore Mountains, as it is in the football stadiums of the Ruhr valley in western Germany. The traditions of mining entered the collective consciousness because very many people were employed in the mining industry.
For centuries, members of the mining and metallurgical guilds formed a select group. They had their own specialised terminology and special clothing, demonstrating the exclusivity of their profession. With the discontinuation of mining and the gradual passing of contemporary witnesses, the heirs and inhabitants of the mining regions have taken over the legacy.
Ore Mountains artist Günter Schwoboda (1934-2017) worked on this electric pyramid for around 30 years. He himself was from a mining family in Freiberg and was deeply rooted in mining culture. The five-tier pyramid, with its figures of miners and smelting folk, was an expression of appreciation for the work they did.
Miners’ Language and Mining Stories
The success of the human species owes much to language. Thanks to our ability to speak, we can communicate with each other and exchange information. Telling stories, jokes, and singing songs forges ties between people and is a way of sharing common values.
The demands made on language were especially high in mining. Particular tools, techniques, operating methods, and regulations unique to this industry required their own terminology. People needed to be able to rely on one another in communication. At the same time, the language served to distinguish insiders from outsiders.
Women in Mining
Mining is traditionally seen as a male domain. This prejudice particularly developed in German-speaking mining regions from the 19th century onward. Women were deliberately pushed out of underground work because these well-paid jobs were reserved for men. It was also believed that women were not physically suited for the heaviest tasks. Thus, the German ban on underground work for women was long considered progressive.
However, in reality, women have worked both above and underground in mining throughout all periods and regions of the world. Especially in areas where mining was predominantly organised in small enterprises and family groups, women played a vital role. In informal small-scale mining today, women make up about one-third of the workforce worldwide.
Brought to Light
During the second mining boom in the Ore Mountains around 1500, women were pioneers actively working in mining. Images and texts by scholars such as Georgius Agricola attest to this. At that time, bourgeois and noble women, like Barbara Uthmann and Rosina Schnorr von Carolsfeld, also emerged as mining entrepreneurs.
For businesses, women represented readily available and inexpensive labour. Since they were generally not allowed to join a mining guild, they could be dismissed quickly.
After World War II, Charlotte Praße (1912-1966) faced a choice: to work as a rubble woman or for Wismut. Due to better provisions, she chose the latter. Initially employed as a construction worker, the single mother rose to become a foreman, district foreman, and finally a district director of above-ground operations at the Annaberg-Buchholz works.
A Communal Identity
In pre-modern hierarchical societies, people belonged to an estate determined by their parents’ status and their own occupation. They were part of a fixed group that provided each member with a cultural identity, legal freedoms, and a social framework.
No other estate had as strong a sense of solidarity as the mining community, since everyone in mining was interdependent – from the crusher boy to the mining official with court connections. Everyone in the mine and the smelter was part of the community, despite social differences.
This estate evolved from the mining fraternities of the Middle Ages, which traveled between mining districts in Europe. Over time, they developed their own code of conduct and rituals.
Miners’ Clothing
Miners' clothing was initially practical and offered some protection against injuries – this is how the miner’s apron (arschleder) came about. However, over time, a traditional uniform evolved that further differentiated according to rank and job function.
In Saxony, elaborate ceremonial costumes were developed for festive occasions and miners' parades from the 16th century onward. The designers drew inspiration from workwear, emphasising social distinctions. The miner’s apron, as an identifying symbol, remained part of the ceremonial attire.
Christening Gown
Christening gown in the style of a miner’s costume.
1702
Oberharzer Mining Museum Clausthal-Zellerfeld
Knife Pouch
1800-1850
Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden, Museum of Saxon Folk Art
Arschleder
2nd half of the 19th century
Museum Priesterhäuser Zwickau
Parade Pit Hat
19th century
Museum Priesterhäuser Zwickau
Hammer and Pick, the Symbol of Mining
The identifying symbol of miners comes from the tradition of occupational heraldry. It depicts a hammer and a pick crossed over each other – the two essential tools of medieval miners. The St. Andrew’s cross position of the hammer and pick was once considered a talisman against evil spirits and brought luck to its bearer.
The symbol first appears verifiably in the 14th century on seals in Bohemia. Nowadays, it can also be found as graffiti, on municipal coats of arms, or even as tattoos.
Carved from Good Wood – Mining in Craftsmanship
In the Ore Mountains, a unique Christmas culture has evolved, intertwining mining motifs with the festive season. For the locals, decorating their homes with locally crafted wooden art is an essential tradition at the start of Advent. The nutcrackers, pyramids, and arch-shaped candelabras on display often feature mining symbols.
More than a Cliché – Mining and Ore Mountain Folk Art since 1900
With the elevation to folk art, the products of Ore Mountain toy makers and woodcarvers became popular worldwide. The aesthetics of wooden art, its popularity, and its connection to mining led both German dictatorships to instrumentalize it for their own purposes, interpreting it in nationalist or socialist terms.
The new economic freedoms since 1989 have been successfully exploited by many craftsmen and hobby woodcarvers. Today, the creative range of these “Männelmacher” spans from traditional to pop culture.
Legends and Lore
Strong men and greedy dwarves, treasures and dangers, ruthless rulers and wicked queens, ingenious technicians and remarkable female artists – for millennia, stories and myths have arisen around mining. In the old mining regions, the memory of mining and the transmission of its traditions form an integral part of local identity.
Besides veteran miners, heritage clubs, and mining museums, many others continue the myth today – tour operators, artists, fantasy authors, politicians, and football fans. The mining myth is not a fixed narrative or dogma, but a living cosmos that is constantly evolving and sometimes even exploited.
Originating from Norse mythology, dwarves are mythical beings of small stature. Even in early legends, they are described as skillful craftsmen. Dwarves were said to live underground, close to humans. Their modern appearance, complete with pointed caps, likely stems from the hoods worn by miners.
Many stories are set in mystical underground realms. This is also true for the third volume of the popular Magic Land series by Soviet author Alexander Volkov, in which the heroine Elli and her friends journey into the subterranean land of the ore miners, where seven kings rule despotically at the same time.
All Things Come to an End
The last lump of coal mined in Germany was extracted by miners at the Prosper-Haniel pit in Bottrop on 14 September 2018. It was presented to Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on 21 December 2018. This marked the end of centuries of coal mining in the country – an industry that had provided livelihoods and a sense of identity for countless people.