Uhelná trasa
The John the Baptist Gallery
Early in the 19th century, the region of Sokolov became an important centre of the Bohemian alum industry. Two mineral plants, which were located in Staré Sedlo, developed into modern industrial operations thanks to industrialist Johann David Starck (1770–1841). The lower Holy Trinity mineral plant stood next to the John the Baptist gallery. The tunnelling of the John the Baptist Gallery was started in 1815–1816. The adit was driven for the most part in the hard rock, and most manually or using black powder with hand holes ups. Gradient drift reaches only 2–3 per mille, i.e. 20–30 cm per 100 m length. The total length of the tunnel is 950 m. First 520 m from the mouth is engraved in the rock, which consists of the Staré Sedlo sandstone, the middle part is timbered and the last section is bricked. The gallery entrance is situated at an altitude of 398.16 m ASL.
Leaching of alum slate in the 16th century (according to G. Agricola)
The main purpose of the gallery was drainage of the mine water from the Michael coalfield. During the operation of the mineral plant also served as a transport adit. Pyrite rich coal was carted there from the gallery. Part of the material was burned in blast furnaces to produce sulphur and the rest was deposited on to piles. Then due to the effects of weathering and water spray, the pyrite rich rock disintegrated into acid soil, which was used to obtain a sulphur extract for production. The technology was quite similar to the medieval procedures. Today, the Adit St. John the Baptist is a cultural monument.
Situation of the gallery in 1872. Stollen in Felsen = Adit in rock
Arms of the Starck Family (SUAS archive)
Portal of the gallery
Useful information
Source: JISKRA J. (1996): Odvodňování dolů dědičnými štolami s ohledem na horní práva na Sokolovsku i jinde. – Historia/SU a. s. Sokolov. 154 p.
