The Siebengründer Graben is a mining ditch, constructed in 1903/1904 in the

Lower Harz The Harz () is a highland area in northern Germany. It has the highest elevations for that region, and its rugged terrain extends across parts of Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Thuringia. The name ''Harz'' derives from the Middle High German w ...

in central Germany, that is dry and no longer used.

History

An earlier ditch, the ''Kochsgraben'' was completed in 1724. In the course of the decline of mining in the Straßberg area of the

Harz Mountains The Harz () is a highland area in northern Germany. It has the highest elevations for that region, and its rugged terrain extends across parts of Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Thuringia. The name ''Harz'' derives from the Middle High German w ...

the ditch was initially extended by the section known as the ''Anhaltischer'' or ''Langer Graben'' in the Neudorf Mining Field. After mining ceased there in 1903, the section to Neudorf was closed and the Kochsgraben extended for a final time. This new section, called the ''Siebengründer Graben'', linked the ''Siebengrund'' bottom, the catchment area of the

Teufelsteich {{Infobox dam , name = Teufelsteich , name_official = , image = Teufelsteich 181849.jpg , image_size = , image_caption = The Teufelsteich , image_alt = , location_map ...

reservoir, was linked to the

Lower Harz Pond and Ditch System Within the Lower Harz region (in the counties of Harz and Mansfeld-Südharz in central Germany) are still many traces of the historical water management facilities used by the mining industry. In addition to water-carrying ditches and ponds, there ...

. In addition to the ''Teufelsteich'', the ponds of

Fürstenteich The Fürstenteich is a reservoir near Silberhütte in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. It has an earth-filled dam with an impervious core. It impounds the Teufelsgrundbach stream. Construction The dam was based on sedimented shale and has an ...

and ''Silberhütter Pochwerksteich'' were also now supplied with water from the

Lude stream The Lude is an long stream of Saxony-Anhalt, in the Harz Mountains of central Germany. It is the strongest and – besides an affluent of itself – longest headwater of the Thyra and therefore hydrographically defined as its upper course. Cou ...

and the Rödelbachgraben. The entire ditch was renamed as the ''Silberhütter Kunstgraben'', although it was no longer a true ''

Kunstgraben A ''Kunstgraben'' is a type of man-made water channel that was once used by mines to drive the water wheels needed for power, mine drainage and a host of other purposes. The term is German (plural: ''Kunstgräben''). Similar ditches supplyin ...

'' because its water was no longer used to power any mining facilities. When the silverworks in Silberhütte went bankrupt in 1937, the ditch was used to generate electricity until 1939 when it was drained.

Sources

Das Unterharzer Teich- und Grabensystem
* Wilfried Ließmann: Historischer Bergbau im Harz. 3. Auflage. Springer, Berlin 1997, {{DEFAULTSORT:Siebengrunder Graben Kunstgraben Lower Harz Pond and Ditch System Canals in Germany CSiebengrunder Graben CSiebengruender Graben Canals opened in 1904