The slate mines in Recht were built in the mid-1880s by the Margraff brothers to mine slate for roofing. In the two tunnels, they extracted an approximately 480-million-year-old bluish slate, Recht bluestone. Unfortunately, Recht bluestone was not suitable for the production of those very thin roof tiles. But it did have other excellent qualities: it was extremely weatherproof and resistant against environmental influences. For that reason, Recht bluestone was used for creations in religious art, but also processed to make troughs for making sour cabbage, and tanning basins in the leather industry. Decorative examples can still be found in the doorway arches of the nearby presbytery and the entrance portal of the church opposite it.
Having said that, the slate mines were abandoned after just some 20 years because they were no longer profitable. Over time, they began to collapse, but the lower of the two was restored at great effort on an honorary basis and is home today to a mine that does tours for visitors and is attached to the Recht Bluestone Museum. Here, visitors can get a great impression of the galleries created by such hard work, and experience numerous Recht bluestone products and tools.
