Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The Joseph-Else mining tile, located in Wittelsheim, Upper Rhine, came into being in 1904 with the discovery of a potash deposit by industrialist Joseph Vogt. The operation began in 1910 under the aegis of Deutsche Kaliwerke S.A., a German company that dug the Joseph (1911) and Else (1912) wells, reaching 550 metres of depth. After the armistice of 1918, the site went under French control via the Mines de Potasse d'Alsace (MPDA), which extended the installations between 1924 and 1931: boiler room, lamp factory, offices, and horse riding in reinforced concrete or metal. The well Else received a Vénot-Pélin extraction machine in 1931, while the recipe building of the Joseph well was expanded in 1957.

Mining ceased in 1966, leaving room for conversion to a business park in 1990. However, part of the site was reused by StocaMine in 1991 for the underground storage of ultimate waste, with the installation of a new metal straddle on the Saint Joseph well. Although several elements (such as lampistry or horse riding) were listed as historical monuments between 1990 and 2005, the whole was finally removed in 2006 due to its state of advanced degradation. Today, some buildings remain, but conservation is considered low priority.

Architecturally, the site is distinguished by its constructions in red brick masonry (administrative buildings, arcade lamps) and reinforced concrete (the Else well, 41.57 metres high). The sprinkling of the Joseph well, added in 1991, is a metal structure of 31 metres weighing 160 tons. These elements illustrate the evolution of mining techniques in the 20th century, between initial German heritage and French modernization. The site remains a testimony of Alsatian industrial history, linked to the extraction of potash and its cross-border economic stakes.

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