Site overview

KWK Ludwik — Szyb Tadeusz is a surviving shaft of the former Kopalnia Węgla Kamiennego Ludwik in Zabrze, Upper Silesia. The shaft was formerly known as Konrad and was renamed Tadeusz after the Second World War, when the mine was incorporated into the Polish coal industry. The associated shaft group also included Erazm and Michał, renamed from earlier German-period shaft names.

In 1949 a new production level at 575 metres was opened and served by the deepened Szyb Tadeusz. The shaft and associated buildings survive on the former KWK Ludwik site at ul. Hagera in Zabrze and are recorded in Polish photographic and mapping sources as Szyb Tadeusz.

The supplied location lies within an urban-industrial landscape in Ruda Śląska, but no distinct mining site can be securely identified from the available evidence.

Map

Map markers and directions links are provided for location reference only and do not indicate public access or permission to enter a site.
No site photograph is currently available. Images will be added as field visits are carried out.

History

The former KWK Ludwik in Zabrze developed within the nineteenth-century coal-mining landscape of Upper Silesia. The mine was historically known under German-period names before becoming part of the Polish coal industry under the name Kopalnia Węgla Kamiennego Ludwik. After the Second World War the mine was reorganised within the Zabrze coal industry, and the principal shafts were renamed: Konrad became Tadeusz, Ernst became Erazm, and Anna became Michał.

Szyb Tadeusz was therefore the renamed Konrad shaft of KWK Ludwik. In 1949 a new production level at 575 metres was opened, and the deepened Szyb Tadeusz served that level. The mine reached a strong post-war output level in the early 1950s and continued as part of the Zabrze mining system through later restructuring.

The shaft complex survives on the former KWK Ludwik site at ul. Hagera in Zabrze. Modern photographic records document the headframe and shaft-top buildings of Szyb Tadeusz, while Polish topographic and place-name data also records Szyb Tadeusz as a named mining object in the same Zabrze mining landscape as Szyb Erazm and other shaft remains. Further archival work could refine the original sinking date and technical specification, but the surviving identity of the shaft as KWK Ludwik — Szyb Tadeusz is secure.

Timeline

Konrad shaft renamed Szyb Tadeusz

After the Second World War, KWK Ludwik’s principal shafts were renamed. The former Konrad shaft became Szyb Tadeusz.
1949
Operation

575-metre level opened

In 1949 a new production level at 575 metres was opened at KWK Ludwik, served by the deepened Szyb Tadeusz.
1951
Operation

Post-war production peak reached

KWK Ludwik reached a post-war production peak in the early 1950s, with Szyb Tadeusz forming part of the operating shaft system.
2013–2025

Szyb Tadeusz documented photographically

Photographic records document the surviving headframe and shaft-top buildings of Szyb Tadeusz at the former KWK Ludwik site in Zabrze.

Sources and records

Strażnicy Czasu: Zabrze — KWK Ludwik; Fotopolska: Zabrze — Szyb Tadeusz, KWK Ludwik, ul. Hagera; Polish PRNG / Geoportal topographic metadata: Szyb Tadeusz; Wikimedia Commons: Zabrze Szyb Tadeusz; Maciej Mutwil blog: Tadeusz rozbierany, KWK Ludwik, Zabrze.
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