Důl Maršál Jeremenko — jáma 1 Ostrava · Moravian-Silesian Region · Czech Republic

The Alexander colliery's lower workings were in 1979 attached to the Jeremenko field, but jáma 1 of Důl Jeremenko has its own distinct history beginning in 1891. The mine was founded on 25 May 1891 by the Vítkovické kamenouhelné doly, a leasing company operating in the southern part of Vítkovice, southwest of the later junction of Místecká and Rudná streets. The initial name was Nová jáma (Neuschacht). The ventilation shaft was founded first in 1891 and reached 312.5 metres by 1896. The winding shaft — jáma 1 as later designated — was begun in 1892 and reached a depth of 386 metres by 1896. First coal from preparatory workings was extracted in 1896, with the mine recording 42,585 tonnes of output in that year.

In 1895 the lease ended and the mine was absorbed into Vítkovické horní a hutní těžířstvo (VHHT), controlled by the Rothschild family. The mine was simultaneously renamed Louisschacht (Jáma Louis) after Louis Rothschild (1882–1955), son of the principal owner Albert Salomon Rothschild. Mining concessions for the first proved coal measures were granted on 30 June 1895. Between 1895 and 1899 a worker and technical staff housing colony was constructed for the mine's employees, eventually reaching 77 dwellings including a kindergarten.

From 1 January 1914 to 28 June 1919 jáma 1 (the winding shaft) was deepened from its initial 386 metres to 699.6 metres. Reconstruction works also took place in 1920 and 1929, following which the shafts reached their intermediate final depths: jáma 1 to 819 metres and the ventilation shaft jáma 2 to 590.4 metres including the sump. A notable technical feature documented from 1898 was the installation of steam ventilation equipment; the main fan from 1897, manufactured by Královopolská strojírna Lederer & Porges in Brno, had an output of 50 m³/s, as did the reserve fan produced in 1900 at Vítkovické železárny. During the First World War, annual production reached up to 250,000 tonnes of coking coal, largely supplied to the Vítkovice ironworks cokery.

In 1929 the combined headframe building serving both jáma 1 and jáma 2 acquired its definitive form. In 1906 the mine introduced vibrating chutes, reportedly the first such equipment in the Ostrava-Karviná district. During the Second World War, the mine was incorporated into the Hermann Göring Werke state industrial group on 1 January 1942 and renamed Zeche Steinböck, while nominally remaining under VHHT ownership. After liberation the mine was returned to the Louis name, then on 8 December 1946, following nationalisation into the Ostravsko-karvinské doly national enterprise, it was renamed Důl Generál Jeremenko after the Soviet marshal whose forces liberated Ostrava. From 1 January 1958 the mine was organisationally merged with Důl Hlubina as its Závod č. 2 (plant number two) under the combined Důl Hlubina enterprise.

In 1958 sinking of a third shaft, jáma 3, commenced. This circular-section shaft reached its final depth of 1,062 metres in 1966, making Důl Jeremenko one of the deepest collieries in the Ostrava-Karviná district. Over jáma 3 a hammer-type (kladivová) headframe was erected, 55 metres in height with a viewing gallery at 43 metres and an above-ground engine room. The winding engine installed was an electric four-rope type K-4000 with a 2,500 kW motor, designed for winding from depths up to 1,245 metres, manufactured by ČKD. In 1967 the former winding shaft jáma 1 was converted to a ventilation shaft. A new electric winding engine from Siemens-Schuckert, with a unique braking system, was transferred to the ventilation shaft jáma 2 from the decommissioned Důl Jindřich in Moravská Ostrava.

On 30 April 1970 the mine was renamed Důl Maršál Jeremenko following the promotion of General Jeremenko to the rank of Marshal. The marshal attended the renaming ceremony in person with his wife. From 1 July 1987 the mine was incorporated into the consolidated Důl Ostrava state enterprise. In 1979 the lower portion of the Důl Alexander field was attached to the Jeremenko working area.

Mining ceased at Důl Maršál Jeremenko on 31 December 1992, the last tram of coal having been brought to surface. Total output over the mine's production life of 1896 to 1992 amounted to 28.54 million tonnes. Following closure, jáma 2 was backfilled in 1996. Jáma 1 and jáma 3 were not backfilled and instead were placed into service as the mine water pumping infrastructure for the wider Ostrava coalfield basin. From 2002 the mine passed to state enterprise DIAMO, ODRA branch. Three high-capacity KSB pumps, each 8 metres in height with an output of 175 litres per second and a discharge head of 651 metres, are operated at a depth of 370 metres in jáma 1. Approximately 5.5 million cubic metres of mineralised water are pumped annually and discharged into the Ostravice river. The purpose is to protect the still-active collieries in the Karviná region from inundation via the Michálkovice barrier.

The hammer-type headframe over jáma 3 was designated a Czech cultural monument in 2001. Earlier designations covered the smithy and stable buildings, though the stable was subsequently demolished. The original colliery complex was built in consistent red exposed-brick architecture with elaborately articulated facades, while the later jáma 3 headframe represents a contrasting modern industrial structure combining red infill brickwork, large-format glazing, and a green steel frame. The complex retains its overall surface character and continues to be staffed by DIAMO operatives, including mine electricians, mechanics, and ventilation workers responsible for approximately 450 metres of underground crosscuts at a depth of 585 metres.