new barbara Shaft
The New Barbara Shaft was completely rebuilt in 1996/1997 as a steel-concrete structure.
In 1995, during the excavation work in the adit, a chimney-like opening about 8 - 10 m high was approached at the location of the present shaft. Since at that time a possibility was sought to create a new exit for visitor operations, so that several groups could be guided through the mine at the same time without having to return to the mouth, this provided an ideal opportunity to sink a new shaft. A wooden staircase was built into the steel and concrete construction, which was then used for the exit, and a central staircase was built into the shaft to convey the material. The shaft has a depth of about 19 meters.
It is still not clear whether there was already a shaft at this location in earlier times or whether there was only a so-called overburden (= shaft-like excavation from the bottom to the top without an opening to the surface) which later collapsed. In any case, an old adit, one of the first in the Düppenweiler mine, probably named "Josefsstollen", led right through today's shaft.
At its inauguration in 1997, the shaft was given the name "Neuer-Barbara-Schacht" (New Barbara Shaft). This was to honor the special merits of the "old miners" Erich Leinenbach, Erhard Ehlen (+) and Erich Cadario, who were active during the entire construction of the visitor mine. The addition "new" was necessary to distinguish it from the already existing historical Barbaraschacht.
