The beginnings of mining in Kočevska area

Mining in Kočevska area dates back to the first years of the 19th century. In September 1803, Prince Karl Wilhelm Auersperg was the first to obtain a mine prospecting licence for lignite in the area where Trata is today and opened the “Wilhelm’s Excavation Site”. The prince did not persist with the excavation for long, because the volume of excavated material was modest and the mineral ore did not prove useful in the iron industry, which he fostered as the owner of the ironworks operating in Dvor near Žužemberk. After a long period without mining activity in the area, in 1820 the mining rights were granted to Ivan Röthel, an inhabitant of Kočevje, who opened the “St. John” excavation site. Although the volume of excavated coal was not abundant, he exploited it for industrial purposes, for his brickworks. It was the first plant in Kočevje to introduce lignite into the production process.

Later, coal was mined in Kočevje by some wealthy townspeople, and the most prominent was the Viennese Razinger family, which was involved in glassmaking. Brothers Anton, Nikolaj and Franc immigrated to Kočevje in 1849 and two years later received the prospecting right. The success of the glassworks led to more and more coal being mined to meet production needs. In 1859, seven additional 7 mining site measurements (7×4,5 ha) were granted with 150 miners working there. As intensive mining required increasing investments, the Razinger family became over-indebted and gradually went bankrupt.

Kočevje Coal Mine: prosperity under Trbovlje ownership

At the end of the 19th century, the Trbovlje Coal Mining Company took over ownership of the coal mine and started investing in it. A brickworks, lime kiln, separation plant, heating plant, machine shop, central workshop, sawmill and a steam engine with an electric generator were built. In September 1893, Kočevje officially opened a railway line to Ljubljana for the transport of lignite, and the first train operations had already commenced on this route two months earlier. The “Iron Road” enabled the Kočevje Mine to break into the international market and fostered industrial development of the town of Kočevje. The coal mine became the largest industrial plant in the Kočevska region, and its operation also brought the first electrification to the town. In 1919, a water pipeline was built from the Rinža River to the mine with an electric pump.

Mining continued uninterrupted during the World War I, but after the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy, the Kočevje mine’s operations declined. The railways were nationalised, and the coal supplies were significantly reduced. The Trbovlje Coal Mining Company cut investments and consequently a large number of workers were let go. In 1919, around 1.200 miners were employed, but in 1930 only around 100 still worked there.

Kočevje miners’ revolt

During the World War II, a field committee of the Liberation Front of the Slovene Nation was organised in the Kočevje mine. Kočevje miners went to the partisans in large numbers and also carried out various acts of sabotage, delivering material and food to the partisans through the mine. Because miners left to fight in the war, there was a marked decline in mining activity. The Italians arrested many of the miners from Kočevje, some of whom were deported to a concentration camp in Padua. The mine administration sent food parcels to the internees. During the Italian occupation, the mine was fenced off with wire. In December 1943, the Partisans destroyed most of the mining installations. As there was no electricity for pumping, the pit was flooded with water, making it impossible for the occupying forces to extract the coal.

After the end of World War II, the Trbovlje Coal Mining Company became state-owned. The mine was first renamed to Kočevje Mine and then to Kočevje Lignite Mine. Restoration work began, but destroyed equipment and unskilled miners hindered the re-establishment of production. The operation of the mine was essential for the economy of Kočevje, therefore the miners were exempted from compulsory military service. Due to a shortage of local labour, miner workers from Dry Carniola, Central Sava Valley, and Slovene Littoral and Prekmurje Regions were recruited. In August 1950, the Workers’ Council took over the management of the mine, abandoning production on the open-pit mine and retaining only pit mining. In 1961, a new separation plant was opened, which improved the quality of the coal, and production began to rise sharply in the following years.

Merger with ITAS and mine closure

In 1970, lignite production exceeded 200,000 tonnes. The miners were well paid for their successful work, and their income was among the highest in the municipality. Although the Kočevje Mine rose to the top of the Yugoslav coal mines during this period, coal reserves gradually declined. The administration decided to switch production in order to retrain the miners. The production programme of the fast-growing ITAS company allowed for a relatively simple and quick retraining, and a referendum on the merger of the company and the mine was successfully held in May 1971. After approval by the two Workers’ Councils, the mine was formally incorporated within ITAS in March 1972. Although the mine had been scheduled for closure four years earlier, the energy crisis meant that mining continued until 28 February 1978. This finally marked the last day of the turbulent history of the Kočevje Coal Mine.

Kočevje Coal Mine today

Today, Kočevje’s mining past is still reflected in the infrastructure from that period. The most famous remnant is certainly the increasingly popular Rudnik Lake. The abandoned buildings of the mine separation plant and the former mining colony are further reminders of the history of the mine workers. But there there is also another illustrative reminder, namely the names of local settlements, such as Rudarsko naselje (Mining settlement) and Rudnik (Mine). The areas of Trata are marked with Roman numerals from I onwards, according to the site measurements, which were measured and staked out in 1849. Also worth mentioning is the railway line to the capital, which was after many decades re-established as a regular line in January 2021.

Viri:
Jerbič Perko, Vesna. 2005. Rudnik rjavega premoga Kočevje. Kočevje: Pokrajinski muzej.
Rustja, Karel. 2015. 120 let kočevske železnice. Kočevje: Pokrajinski muzej.
Zupan, Janko. 1963. Rudarji ob 20-letnici kočevskega zbora. Kočevje: Kočevski tisk.

Read how retired miner Franc Volf remembers miners life in Kočevje here.

The post Kočevje Coal Mine: Turbulent mining history of Kočevje appeared first on Gottscheer blog.

The retired Kočevje miner recalls that the coal mine held a great significance to the town of Kočevje and Kočevska region in general during the time he worked there. The mine provided livelihood for many families and the mining profession was held in high esteem.

“The mine was undoubtedly of crucial importance for the entire Kočevska region, not just for the town of Kočevje. To be perfectly honest, the then Kočevje practically “grew” from the mine. In industrial and economic terms, everything revolved around the mine. At that time, there was also a large Tekstilana factory that mainly provided employment for our wives, and LIK, another important company. But there is no doubt that the mine was in all respects the main driver of development in the town and its wider surroundings.”

The love of mining outweighed the difficult work

The following recollections of the retired miner from Kočevje best illustrate very strenuous and dangerous work in the mine:

“I got up at 5am because we started work at 6am. I was lucky to live near the mine. Before entering the mine, you had to change into mining work clothes. We miners were often wet because there was lots of water in the pits. We had to dry our clothes by the next day. There was a load of work, but it was also well paid. Because there were so few of us in the pits, we could not be “slacking”. We had to work a lot and hard. It was also dangerous. It is well known that a mine that is closing is the most dangerous for miners. There were times when the pressure around us was so intense that the mineral deposit collapsed before our eyes.”

Although the daily work in the coal mine was hard, he loved it. “We also worked on Saturdays and Sundays, there were practically no days off. We always had to be 100% present with our body and mind. Fortunately, I was young and was fit enough to withstand all the strains. It was also quite helpful that I led a healthy life, and didn’t drink alcohol or smoke, which was unlike many of my mining colleagues. In a way, working in the mine was like being married – we mine workers were a bit smitten with the mine. After the mine closed, I went to work at ITAS with a very heavy heart. When the coal mine ceased operations, it must have been us, the miners, who suffered the worst. We really loved this job, so it was really difficult to leave the mine behind.”

Not only colleagues, but also friends

As Franc Volf points out, the Kočevje miners were not only colleagues, but also true friends. Together, they spent many hours working in the mine and many afternoons socialising during leisure activities.

“We liked to spend time together. Mine workers are a special kind of people, so we stuck together a lot. In those days, there were still trade union trips or excursions. Mine workers from all over Slovenia met often. For example, people from Kočevje went to Trbovlje, Zagorje or Hrastnik, and they visited us. We visited each other, got to know each other and had a good time. We were friends. I don’t know if workers in any other line of business shared such a strong bond. We had quite a few friends in Trbovlje in particular, as Trbovlje was considered a kind of Slovenian mining centre at that time.”

There were many amusing anecdotes, and heavy tragedies as well

Despite the difficult working conditions and physically demanding working hours, the friendly relationships between the miners brought about many interesting stories. Franc Volf remembers particularly well an anecdote where older miners liked to “play a trick” on their younger colleagues.

“When a young miner came to work in the mine, the older miners would send him to the ventilating assembly, which was always running, saying that the electric connection was there. Not knowing this, the newcomers headed there, and when they arrived, they immediately rushed back to where they came from, because there was no oxygen up there. We also talked about the notorious Perkmandeljc, and we scared the young miners that he was watching us from above. These jokes could be cruel, and some colleagues were completely petrified. In the ten years I worked in the mine, there was plenty of such events.”

Unfortunately, his time in the Kočevje mine was also marked by two tragedies, which he still remembers vividly to this day.

“We have had two fatal accidents when the shaft caved in on two of our miners. Vinko Kotar and Jože Lipovec lost their lives in work accidents. Having also worked as a mine rescue worker, I have been personally involved in both tragedies. Both of them remained stuck in the shaft for about 14 to 20 days because we simply were not able to get to them before that. They were caught where the Mine Lake is today. At that time, there were two other lakes, and we faced a high risk of ingress of silt – that is, a mixture of water, mud and clay. So we had to break through to them from a completely opposite side. We miners always greeted each other with “good luck”, and we meant it literally, because we never knew what awaited us in the mine. We were always with one foot in the ‘afterworld’.”

Only a handful of miners are still alive today

Once a year, Kočevje miners meet on their special day, the Miner’s Day. Miners’ Day, which is commemorated on 3 July, is celebrated every year at the Kočevje Regional Museum, where a social event is organised to reminisce about miners’ lives. With the exception of this organised gathering of former mining comrades, the few who are still alive, according to Franc Volf, rarely see each other due to old age and illness.

“Unfortunately, there are very, very few of us left. I can count my Kočevje mining colleagues who are still alive today on the fingers of one hand. And those who are still with us are already very old and in poor health. I was one of the youngest miners at the time, but most of my peers have already passed away. In fact, all those miners who lived less healthy lives, who smoked, drank alcohol, etc., have passed away long time ago. Fortunately, what has kept me going, apart from a healthy lifestyle, is that I often hike in the woods where I hunt and pick mushrooms.”

Source: interview with retired Kočevje miner Franco Volf, conducted on 14 November 2023. 11. 2023.

In the previous post, read:Student project for the Gottscheer ethnological exhibition in Občice.

The post Franc Volf, a miner from Kočevje: memories of a miner’s life in Kočevje appeared first on Gottscheer blog.