Ore Mountain Mining Region
A borderland mining landscape with 800 years of continuous extraction.
Stretching roughly 95 kilometers in length and 45 kilometers in width along the border between Saxony, Germany, and North Bohemia in the Czech Republic, the Ore Mountain Mining Region is an industrial heritage landscape shaped by more than eight centuries of continuous mining. Officially known as the Erzgebirge/Krušnohoří Mining Region, the area is filled with historic, largely unaltered technological monuments and collections tied to its mining past. This landscape—marked by its transport systems, water management, and urban layout—was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site on 6 July 2019 for its outstanding record of mining technology development over the last 800 years.
The region contains a high density of well-preserved relics from abandoned mines, including shafts, smelters, and hammer mills. The World Heritage Site comprises 22 individual mining sites and monuments: 17 in Germany and 5 in the Czech Republic. The largest of these is the Abertamy – Boží Dar – Horní Blatná – Mining Landscape, covering 2,680 hectares. The German sites include the Dippoldiswalde Medieval Silver Mines, Altenberg-Zinnwald Mining Landscape, Lauenstein Administrative Centre, Freiberg Mining Landscape, Hoher Forst Mining Landscape, Schneeberg Mining Landscape, Schindlers Werk Smalt Works, Annaberg-Frohnau Mining Landscape, Pöhlberg Mining Landscape, Buchholz Mining Landscape, Marienberg Mining Town, Lauta Mining Landscape, Ehrenfriedersdorf Mining Landscape, Grünthal Silver-Copper Liquation Works, Eibenstock Mining Landscape, Rother Berg Mining Landscape, and Uranium Mining Landscape. On the Czech side are the Jáchymov Mining Landscape, Abertamy – Boží Dar – Horní Blatná – Mining Landscape, the Red Tower of Death in Ostrov, Krupka Mining Landscape, and Mědník Hill Mining Landscape in Měděnec.
Mining in the Ore Mountains began with the discovery of silver ore in 1168 at Christiansdorf, now part of the Freiberg Mining Field, and continued without interruption until 1990. Silver was the first metal extracted, particularly around Freiberg, and the region was a major European producer of silver ore from the 14th through the 16th centuries, though other regions like Potosí surpassed it after 1545. On the Bohemian side, Krupka grew into a major mining town, producing silver, tin, and later iron, lead, copper, and mercury. As surface deposits of silver and tin declined in the 16th
- field
- Mining and industrial heritage
- nationality
- German (Saxony) and Czech (North Bohemia)
- known_for
- Continuous mining from 1168 to 1990; UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2019
- area
- Roughly 95 km long and 45 km wide
- number_of_sites
- 22 mining sites and monuments (17 in Germany, 5 in the Czech Republic)
Quick Facts
- Location
- Czech Republic and Germany
- Criteria
- (ii), (iii), (iv)(ii), (iii), (iv)
- Year
- 2019
- Area
- 6766.057 ha
- Buffer Zone
- 13017.791 ha
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
From the first discovery of silver ore in 1168 in Christiansdorf in the territory of the present-day borough of Freiberg, mining was carried out uninterruptedly in the Ore Mountains until 1990. Silver was the first metal mined, particularly around Freiberg, and the region was a major European producer of silver ore during the 14th through 16th centuries, though other regions like Potosí surpassed it after 1545. On the Bohemian side, Krupka grew into a prominent mining town, extracting silver, tin, and later iron, lead, copper, and mercury. After superficial deposits of silver and tin declined in the 16th century, the region became famous as a major European source of cobalt, a status it maintained until the mid-18th century, though other sources existed in Scandinavia and elsewhere. Finally, lignite mining in other parts of Saxony became more significant than the minor anthracite extraction in the Ore Mountains, and uranium mining was state-controlled and secretive, not a major engine for Saxony's economic development.
Reader's Guide
The Ore Mountain Mining Region is significant as an industrial heritage landscape that preserves over 800 years of continuous mining history, from the first silver discovery in 1168 to the end of uranium extraction in 1990. Its UNESCO World Heritage status, granted on 6 July 2019, recognizes the region's exceptional testimony to the advancement of mining technology over that period. The landscape is heavily influenced by mining, affecting transportation, water supply, and urban planning. The World Heritage Site comprises 22 mining sites and monuments, 17 in Germany and 5 in the Czech Republic, including well-preserved relics such as mines, mine shafts, smelters, and hammer mills. The region's legacy includes its role as a world-leading producer of silver in the 14th–16th centuries, cobalt until the mid-18th century, and later anthracite and uranium that drove Saxony's economic development. The largest site, Abertamy – Boží Dar – Horní Blatná – Mining Landscape, covers 2,680 hectares. The region's ongoing investigation of indium, tungsten, tin, and lithium deposits shows its continued relevance.
Did You Know?
- The Ore Mountain Mining Region was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site on 6 July 2019.
- Mining in the region was carried out uninterruptedly from 1168 until 1990.
- The region was a world-leading producer of silver ore during the 14th through 16th centuries.
- The largest World Heritage site in the region is Abertamy – Boží Dar – Horní Blatná – Mining Landscape, covering 2,680 hectares.
More in World Heritage Sites in the Czech Republic 1-24
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