Former hard coal mine in Neunkirchen, closed 31 March 1968, whose surviving Fördergerüst over Wilhelmschacht I forms a visible mining landmark in the Industriegebiet König.
Wilhelmschacht 1 was the Hauptförderschacht of the Grube König, a hard coal mine in Neunkirchen that was one of the so-called Eisenbahngruben. The mine began as a Stollenbergwerk in 1820, founded to supply coal to the Neunkircher Eisenhütte of the Gebrüder Stumm; it was named in 1821 after King Friedrich Wilhelm III of Prussia, who visited Saarbrücken that year. Coal extraction by Stollenbetrieb began in 1820; a Kokerei was erected in 1828 (closed 1857).
The Tiefbauschacht Wilhelm I was angeteuft on 1 May 1847, followed by Schacht Friedrich on 15 July 1869. The Grube König and the neighbouring Grube Dechen were combined in the early twentieth century. The mine was definitively closed on 31 March 1968.
In the 1970s all surface buildings except the Fördergerüst König I and a surviving Maschinenhaus were demolished. The headframe of Schacht König II (erected circa 1940) was transferred in 1970 to the Grube Luisenthal, where it has been standing since as the Fördergerüst Richard I. The remaining Fördergerüst König I is the Wahrzeichen of the Industriegebiet König in Neunkirchen; it is not listed as a Denkmal but forms a prominent reminder of the former mine alongside the site of the Abfallheizkraftwerk Neunkirchen.
The Grube König in Neunkirchen is one of the Eisenbahngruben of the Saar coalfield — mines whose foundation and development were closely linked to the extension of the Prussian railway network into the Saarland in the 1840s. The mine was founded in 1820 at the initiative of the Gebrüder Stumm, owners of the Neunkircher Eisenhütte, who had petitioned the Königliches Bergamt zu Saarbrücken for a new coal supply closer to their furnaces, following the confirmation of multiple coal seams in the area. In 1820 the first Stollenbergwerk with Tagesstrecken was commenced. In 1821 König Friedrich Wilhelm III visited Saarbrücken, and the mine was named after him, adopting the name Grube König. In 1828 a Kokerei was erected at the mine, which operated until 1857.
The Friedrich-Wilhelm-Stollen, the Hauptförderstollen, was initially 53 metres long and was progressively extended in subsequent years. In 1844, at the renewed instigation of the Neunkircher Hütte, a Tiefenlösung was decided upon and the Haupt- und Förderschacht Wilhelmschacht 1 was angeteuft. The Saarland Landesdenkmalamt survey cites the beginning of the Abteufung of Schacht Wilhelm on 1 May 1847, named after the merchant Wilhelm Butenberg. A second shaft, Schacht Friedrich, was begun on 15 July 1869. The mine expanded significantly in the second half of the nineteenth century. At some point in the early twentieth century the Grube König was combined with the neighbouring Grube Dechen; the joint operation was known as the Grube König-Dechen.
Around 1940 the Fördergerüst König II (Schacht König II) was erected; this is the steel headframe that was later transferred to Grube Luisenthal. In 1962, following the closure of its original post at the Grube König, the headframe was moved to Grube Luisenthal, where after modification and reinforcement it was installed over the Richardschacht I in 1970 to serve as Fördergerüst Richard I; it survives in that position at the Luisenthal site today as a listed monument.
The definitive closure of Grube König came on 31 March 1968. In the 1970s all buildings at the König surface complex were demolished except the Fördergerüst König I and a Maschinenhaus. The coordinate of this site (Wilhelmschacht 1) corresponds to the König complex in the Industriegebiet König. The Fördergerüst König I — which was erected approximately 1940 according to the Saarland Landesdenkmalamt — is described in the survey as forming, together with the retained Maschinenhaus, the sole 'bergbauliches Relikt im heutigen Gewerbegebiet'. It is recorded as the 'Wahrzeichen des Industriegebiets König'. The survey also notes that the Fördergerüst of Schacht II is 'seit 1970 auf der Grube Luisenthal'. Neither the headframe König I nor any other surviving König building is listed as a Denkmal; the survey assigns it only the category 'Kein Denkmal'.