Former ventilation shaft at Neunkirchen-Wiebelskirchen, equipped since 1960 with the transferred 1900 Fachwerk headframe from Grube Frankenholz Schacht III — the second-oldest surviving headframe in the Saarland — now serving as a cultural event space man
The Gegenortschacht at the former Schachtanlage Bauershaus in Neunkirchen-Wiebelskirchen served throughout the twentieth century as the principal ventilation shaft (Gegenortschacht) for the Grube König-Dechen and later the Grube Reden. The site was originally established as the Nebenschachtanlage Bauershaus and underwent comprehensive rebuilding in 1960, when it took on its present character. The most significant element is the headframe, originally erected circa 1900 by the Saarbrücken firm Seibert over Schacht III of the Grube Frankenholz at Höchen; when that shaft was dismantled in 1959/60, the headframe was re-erected at the Bauershaus site in 1960, making it the second-oldest surviving headframe in the Saarland.
The shaft was filled in 1994, after which it passed out of Bergaufsicht. The city of Neunkirchen acquired the site at a symbolic price and opened it as a Kulturstätte und Festplatz at the Grubenfest of 22 June 1996. The site is not listed as a Denkmal but has become one of the starting points of the Neunkircher Grubenweg and a focus of local heritage activity.
The Schachtanlage Bauershaus in Neunkirchen-Wiebelskirchen functions as a Gegenortschacht — a ventilation exit shaft — for the underground mine workings. The name Bauershaus refers to the local toponym. The earlier shaft on the site belonged to the Nebenschachtanlage that served as the Gegenortschacht of the Grube König-Dechen, whose extensive underground workings extended north of the main surface complex in Neunkirchen.
The site underwent an Umbau und Neukonzeption in 1960. The most important consequence of this rebuild was the re-erection of the Fachwerk headframe from Schacht III of the Grube Frankenholz at Höchen. This headframe had been erected approximately 1900 by the Saarbrücken firm Seibert; it had stood over Schacht Frankenholz III at Höchen until 1959, when that shaft was being decommissioned. In 1960 the headframe was dismantled at Höchen and re-erected at the Bauershaus site, where it has stood ever since. Because it dates from approximately 1900, it is the second-oldest surviving headframe in the Saarland, preceded only by the 1886 Fachwerk headframe of Schacht Itzenplitz III. The Saarland Landesdenkmalamt survey of 2011 describes the Bauershaus site as a 'Nebenschachtanlage, seit 1960 in der heutigen Ausstattung als Gegenortschacht der Grube Reden', and designates the headframe as the 'Zweitältestes Fördergerüst im Saarland (nach Itzenplitz III)'.
The shaft at Bauershaus had at one point had four shafts on or adjacent to the site; three of these were filled in 1947/48 and 1960. The surviving shaft had a Teufe of 858 metres. In the final period of the Grube Reden, the shaft continued to function as a Gegenortschacht. It was filled (verfüllt) in 1994, after which it was formally released from Bergaufsicht.
The city of Neunkirchen acquired the former mine site at a symbolic price. With the support of the Arbeitslosenselbsthilfe, the Hochbauabteilung der Stadt, the Heimat und Kulturverein Wiebelskirchen, and many voluntary workers from IGBCE Wiebelskirchen, the site was restored and converted into a Kulturstätte. A budget of approximately 200,000 DM was deployed. On 22 June 1996 the site was inaugurated at a Grubenfest and handed over for public cultural use. The Schachtanlage Gegenort is the starting point of the Neunkircher Grubenweg Teil I, which covers eleven stations through the industrial heritage landscape of Wiebelskirchen. The site is not listed as a Denkmal; the 2011 Landesdenkmalamt survey noted the absence of formal protection and called for the continuation of the cultural activities that the city of Neunkirchen had established there.