05 The Emperor Josef – Stollen

Stud Name:             "Archduke Josef - Stollen" until 1764, then "Kaiser Josef - Stollen"

                                   Emperor Joseph II, reign 1765 – 1790, son of Maria Theresa

Struck:            October 26, 1751                

Length:                          1,195 m

Altitude:                    722 m

The Josef tunnel was officially opened on October 26, 1751.

In order to speed up the advance of the main shaft as much as possible, two counter structures were built, namely the first from the mouth hole uphill, and from the Zierler Schurf, sunk from the Ludovika tunnel, towards the day. As early as 1756, the breakthrough of the first counter building took place.                                                         

The second counter-construction was organized between the Salzobermatsrat v. Ehrlach Schurf and the Johann Lemberger Schurf. This second counter-building became clear in 1766.

In 1767 the Salzoberamt approved the estimated cost of 2125 fl. for the construction of a mountain house on the Josef tunnel. A place above the Mundloch, where a chapel had previously stood, was initially chosen as the building site, but the Salzamtmann Scharf moved the new building further down the stream.

Only the Kaiser Josef tunnel reached the salt dome in a deeper horizon, so that the mountain blessing opened up in a wide field. The existence of the Ischler Salzberg, together with the blasting work introduced at the same time and the resulting high rate of advance, was secured for the future.

Situation of the weirs in the Kaiser Josef tunnel around 1800:

Length from the mouth hole to the salt line 1,029 Stabel (1,226.6m), from there to the field site 510 Stabel (607.9m).   2 hairpin bends with a total of 10 weirs, 7 of which are usable and 3 new weirs that are not yet usable.

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In 1826, the foreign trail led through the Empress Ludovika tunnel and the Ignatz Lindner factory in the Kaiser Josef horizon. These weirs were medium-sized, holding 40 barrels or 80,000 buckets (4,528 m²).

In 1821 the Chorinsky bend in the Kaiser Josef tunnel was extended to the west and the Miller bend tackled.

In 1840 an underground connection of the Pernecker salt dome with the Steinberg camp, which already belonged to the Lauffener salt dome, was considered. For this purpose, the Chorinsky turn from the Josef tunnel should be advanced in a north-westerly direction.

The Chorinsky - Kehr was in the direction towards the Rabenbrunn -  and Steinberg tunnels were advanced, but since in the Rabenbrunn tunnels, as the deepest tunnels of the Steinberg camp, the salt was only available in such a short amount of time that not even a single pumping station could be created, further driving the turn hardly made sense. The still outstanding, considerable distance to undercut the Steinberg camp of 1,100 Stabel (1311.2m) in the Tauber Mountains, also through hard limestone masses, was finally not tackled.

Situation of the weirs in the Kaiser Josef tunnel around 1850:   

A total of 12 weirs, all of them in operation around 1850.  Reiter - weir, Lenoble - weir, Gaisberger - weir, Ehrmann - weir, Appold - weir,       

Miss. Riethaler - weir, Harsch - weir, Lötsch - weir, Mrs. Riethaler - weir, Preßl - weir, Lindner - weir, Helms - weir.

Sources used:

Carl Schraml "The Upper Austrian Salt Works from 1750 to the time after the French Wars", Vienna 1934

Carl Schraml "The Upper Austrian Salt Works from 1818 to the end of the Salt Office in 1850", Vienna 1936

Ischl home club "Bad Ischl home book 2004", Bad Ischl 2004

Leopold Schiendorfer "Perneck - A Village Through the Ages", Linz 2006

Johann Steiner "The traveling companion through Upper Austrian Switzerland", Linz 1820, reprint Gmunden 1981

Georg Chancellor "Ischl's chronicle", Ischl 1881, reprint Bad Ischl 1983

Michael Kefer "Description of the main maps of the kk Salzberg zu Ischl", 1820, transcription by Thomas Nussbaumer, as of September 13, 2016

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