More than 800 years, silver, Tin, and uranium was mined here. Now the Czech-German Region of the Erzgebirge/Krušnohoří has good chances of getting the UNESCO title. A report from Freiberg, Germany on the long road to world heritage.
St. Mary’s Cathedral (left) and mining Museum (on the right) in Freiberg
Freiberg is a down-to-earth how to see the city. This is the first impression when you go on a Sunny day on the cobblestones of the old town. The center is full of listed buildings from the Renaissance and Baroque. And yet there are to this day, apart from a few cyclists, hardly any tourists. Only a few souvenir shops are to be found, unlike in similar old towns of Germany. For bakers, butchers and a Infocafé for students of the TU Bergakademie Freiberg, hairdressers,.
The Golden gate of the Cathedral dates from the Romanesque predecessor building, which was destroyed in the town fire of 1484
Freiberg is located in the North of the ore mountains, right in the middle of the free state of Saxony. Because here in 12. Century was accidentally found silver, developed in Freiberg in the middle ages an important city. Mining rights and mineral resources resulted in growth and prosperity.
The Central market shows the visitor both at a glance, the wealth, and the basis for the early development. On one side of the St. Mary’s Cathedral, a late Gothic hall Church with the Golden gate from the 13th century. Century. Directly next to the former Domherrenhof, which has, since 1903, the mining Museum. Have collected Freiberger citizens even since 1860, the appreciation of one’s own particular history, has a Tradition.
Good luck, the foreman comes
In the town hall, an elongated Renaissance building on the top of the market, is Sven Krüger, the Lord mayor of Freiberg. He welcomes his guests with “happiness”, the traditional greeting of the miners. He also raved about the richness of the cultural landscape of the mining tradition in the ore mountains. Only recently, in Freiberg, in the case of construction works, old shafts out of the 12. and 13. Century exposed.
The town hall and the fountain monument to the city founder, Otto the Rich, his nickname he owes to the silver finds of Freiberg
For the 1765 founded the mining Academy in Freiberg, the young Alexander von Humboldt submitted a report for the drainage of a tunnel. In addition, as early as 1913, had been defined in Freiberg for the first Time, the sustainability, says Sven Krüger. Then it was a matter of new forests to grow – in to compensate for the consumption of wood to secure the mining tunnels.
Visitors who want to make a picture of the living Tradition of the ore mountains, recommends that the Lord mayor of the mountain in the run-up to Christmas parades. Although the mining industry has since 1990 been a history, there are numerous clubs, the costume then in cities like Annaberg-Buchholz, Freiberg or Schneeberg in a historical mountain man festively through the streets.
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World Heritage Candidate: The Mining Region Of The Ore MountainsJáchymov – the birthplace of the Dollar
For the science of mining industry, the Renaissance city in the Czech Republic is of Central importance. Famous Jáchimov but mainly because of its silver coins. The first “Joachimsthaler”- a large silver coin was minted from 1520 in the Royal mint. Over two million coins were in circulation. The popular coin was the namesake for the Dollar.
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World Heritage Candidate: The Mining Region Of The Ore MountainsRed tower of death, Jáchymov
The tower was part of the camp Vykmanov II, which was built in 1951 in the vicinity of Jáchymov. For many years, was here processed uranium ore, before it was delivered to the Soviet Union. Political prisoners, who were in prison camps under inhumane conditions in the labor, toiled here. In their Suffering, the Red tower of death, is reminiscent, today a national cultural monument.
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World Heritage Candidate: The Mining Region Of The Ore MountainsFrohnauer Hammer, Annaberg-Bucholz
Until the 15th century. Century as a corn mill was used to produce the plant in 1621 to the Hammer converted to silver blanks for coins. Later, the copper – and iron processing came about, until in 1904, here you can find tools for the mining and agriculture were produced. Today it is the oldest blacksmith Museum in Germany.
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World Heritage Candidate: The Mining Region Of The Ore MountainsGeotop Disc Mountain
30-Meter-high basalt pillars of the windscreen mount to soar in the sky. He is one of three large basalt mountains in the West ore mountains. Popularly they are called pipes “organ”. Formed millions of years ago from cooling Lava. A geological phenomenon, which provided important information about the origin of the earth’s surface. It is one of the most important Geotopes of Germany.
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World Heritage Candidate: The Mining Region Of The Ore MountainsOld Town Marienberg
How many cities in the ore mountains was established in Marienberg, because they discovered rich ore deposits. This was in 1521. From the bird’s perspective you can see very well the symmetrical structure of the city. Of the one-hectare square market square a right-angled road network goes to all sides. The historical core of the city in the Renaissance style, stands under monument protection.
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World Heritage Candidate: The Mining Region Of The Ore MountainsDeep-Bünau Stollen, Altenberg
The Deep-Bünau-in the case of Altenberg and a real European studs. He performs on both the German and on the Czech side into the bowels of the earth. The Region around the Saxon Altenberg stands for 600 years of mining. Here is one of the most important tin-bearing sites in Europe. Today, the visitor mine “granted” hermaphrodite “field associated to tin forest” insights into the world of work underground.
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World Heritage Candidate: The Mining Region Of The Ore MountainsBünau Epitaph, City Church Of Lauenstein
Some families brought the mining unimagined wealth. In the case of the family of Bünau this lucrative relationship is sculpted, even in stone. As a four-storey high Altar in the shape of a pyramid. Paid out of the income from the mining of metal ores. The family members are depicted in life-size, the jewelry items are made of precious Alabaster and Jasper.
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World Heritage Candidate: The Mining Region Of The Ore MountainsRöhrgraben, Ehrenfriedersdorf
The Röhrgraben is an artificial waterway, overcomes on a length of 5.5 kilometres, a difference in height of 23.5 meters. He delivered, with his water, the energy required in the ore mining to the operation of the machine. The trench has been created in the middle ages, and only in 1990 were shut down. Most recently, he supplied the textile industry with energy.
The long road to world heritage
In the silver man street, not far from the town hall, works Helmuth Albrecht, a Professor at the Freiberg mining University. He directs the Institute for the history of technology and industrial archaeology, and is one of the driving forces behind the world heritage application. He is from the beginning. Since one of the first Considerations in the Saxon Ministry of science in March 2000. His first study, disappeared in the drawer. And as the Saxon capital, Dresden, 2009, due to a bridge construction over the Elbe river, its world-heritage lost the title, there was hardly any political support.
“As a UNESCO application had to be cross-border, to be jointly developed.” The historian Helmuth Albrecht in his free Berger office
Helmuth Albrecht was not discouraged. “It was clear to me that we get only when we have the whole Region behind us.” It is a tedious Tour followed master to citizens, Associations and sponsors on the German and Czech side of the ore mountains. Also 20,000 registered monuments, were evaluated in order to determine the typical and most important of the Region. The dark pages of the history of mining in the ore mountains, the mining of uranium, the destruction of life and landscapes belong to him. “This was an important epoch of world-historical significance. Here the uranium has been promoted for the first Russian atomic bomb.”
The first application to the UNESCO was found to be in 2016 as too extensive. But also have Helmuth Albrecht and his colleagues not to be swayed. Although the waiver of the objects away as 30 kilometers from Freiberg, Germany, augustusburg Palace, for him, painful. “The hunting Lodge, with the beautiful fountain, the miners have dug. We originally had with it, because it has been built with the money from the ore mountains.”
30 years ago, 92 Din-A ranged 4 pages of the application, the application of the Erzgebirge includes four heavy volumes
Helmuth Albrecht is optimistic that now everything fits. Four thick volumes difficult than is the case at the beginning of July 2019 for the vote. He will be in Baku at the meeting of the UNESCO in the process, should there still be questions. “It was a very, very long process, and I’m also glad when it’s over.”
Cultural treasures from Freiberg
On the edge of the old town of Freiberg, directly in front of the last preserved gate of the city fortifications, the tower of the Jakobi Church on another treasure that is associated with the cultural landscape in and around Freiberg. The Church houses one of the four Silbermann organs in the city. Gottfried Silbermann, is considered to be one of the most important organ Builder of the Baroque period. Of about 50 instruments from his Freiberger workshop, most of them are up to today, 31, in Saxony.
The 1717/18 by Gottfried Silbermann built the organ in the Jacobi Church
As the organ sounds, can visitors to the Jacobean Church of listen to in the summer every Friday at the midday music. On this day the Organist plays enjoyed works of silver’s time, Johann Sebastian Bach, Francois Couperin. Your age, you can’t see the great organ at all. She had been cared for over the centuries, always good, stressed Clemens Lucke of the Silbermann-Gesellschaft.
Gottfried Silbermann have used 300 years ago, only high-quality materials and an artist was his profession, says Clemens Lucke. Even small villages in Saxony wanted to decorate then with his organs. “Who’s driving through the Erzgebirge, you can find it in many places Silbermann organs, which has shaped the area.” Each organ has its own character, and yet he felt as Organist at each of them at home.
This cultural landscape could grow through the world heritage site title by the UNESCO even closer together, and your identity, strengths, stresses the Lord mayor, Sven Krüger. “Then, can we be much more successful as a Region. In addition, we can generate global attention and tourist delight.”