Concordia Coal Mine

Concordia is a former coal mine in Zabrze, on ul. Hagera. Extraction began in 1841 or 1843, and the mine was closed in the 1990s. Of the buildings, the complex over the Maciej shaft survived and is regarded as a historic monument.

How the Concordia mine developed

It was founded by Karol Łazarz Henckel von Donnersmarck. At first the Julia, Karol and Concordia shafts worked, and at the beginning of the 20th century the mine had ten. The main Concordia shaft reached 575 metres. In 1850 Guido Henckel von Donnersmarck started a coking plant at the mine. In 1873 the mine passed to the company Donnersmarckhütte AG and employed 350 people, and in 1913 about 3,200 people worked in it, with output of the order of a million tonnes a year.

Merging and closure

After the war the mine was gradually incorporated into larger works: in 1958 it was merged with the Ludwik mine, in 1970 with the Mikulczyce-Rokitnica mine, and in 1973 it was absorbed into the Pstrowski mine. The coking plant was closed in 1985 because of environmental regulations and mining damage. The 370-metre level was shut down in 1992, and the last working shaft was Maciej, completed in 1922.

What is left of the mine

The surface buildings of the Maciej shaft were preserved as a monument of technology, also regarded as a site of tourist interest. The site of the former coking plant was reclaimed in 2012-2015.

Practical information

• Address: ul. Bronisława Hagera, Zabrze.
• Check the rules on entry to the Maciej shaft site and any visits with the site's manager or the tourist information office in Zabrze before your visit.
• Nearby stands the Water Tower in Zabrze, and a little further on the Guido Mine.