3. The wheel chamber (Radstube)
Water penetrating through gaps, is the greatest enemy of a mineworker in the mining industry. In most cases, water was drained through galleries on the level of the main gallery. If this was not possible since the mine site was located more deeply, pumps were used in the mine site for the drainage. Tread and water wheels were used for the operation of the pumps and they brought the water to the surface.
Such a water lifting machine was found in the Ehrenstetter Grund in a rock chamber, commonly known as “Eselsbrunnen”. It was a wheel chamber with a size of about 40 m² and a height of 11 m in which a water wheel of a height of 8 m was installed. This water wheel was used to drain the water from the shaft lying behind. Nowadays, this shaft has been collapsed. The wheel was driven by the water that was drained through a sloping channel up to the valley from the dammed “Ahbach” to the water wheel. The water needed for the operation of the wheel as well as the water extracted from the mine was drained through a small gallery from the wheel chamber to the Ahbach.