Buildings of the Former Preussen Mine Complex

The buildings of the former Preussen mine complex are the remains of the Western ventilation shaft in Bytom-Miechowice: a winding engine house, a shaft-top building and an ancillary building from the early 20th century. They stand on Szyb Zachodni street, surrounded by forest, and are entered in the register of immovable heritage sites of the Silesian Voivodeship.

A shaft for air

The Preussen mine began extraction in 1905. Sinking of the Western shaft began a year later, to ventilate the northern mining field. At the beginning of 1908 it reached 122.6 metres, and in 1909 it was sunk to 257 metres. The first airflow through the shaft was obtained in December 1909. In 1910 the winding engine house, the shaft-top building and a house for supervisory staff were put into use. The whole was built in the historicist style. The shaft was connected to the 370-metre level, and in 1939 it was deepened to 720 metres.

What remains

The shaft was taken out of the mine's ventilation system in 1965, when the new Ignacy shaft was brought into operation. Of the original buildings, the engine house, one ancillary building and two basins survive. The winding tower and the nearby residential buildings did not survive. During the Second World War prisoners of war were held in barracks near the shaft. Today the neighbourhood holds a bricklaying and concrete works and a scrap-recycling yard.

Nearby

Preserved workings and an underground route are shown by the Guido Coal Mine (Historic Hard Coal Mine), about seven kilometres away. About 2.7 km from the shaft stands the Tiele-Winckler Palace in Miechowice.

Practical information

• Address: Szyb Zachodni street, Bytom-Miechowice.
• The sources say nothing about the buildings being open to visitors, so treat this as a monument viewed from the outside and ask the town hall whether visiting is possible.