Schaubergwerk Sunnpau

Useful Information

Location:	Stein 36, 5621 St. Veit im Pongau. From Salzburg A10 south, exit Bischofshofen. Follow 311 to exit St. Veit im Pongau. L218 through St. Veit im Pongau, at restaurant Brennerwirt turn right, on narrow road 1 km to parking lot. 15 minutes walk to mine. (47.3407783, 13.1250507)
Open:	Schaubergwerk Sunnpau: MAY to SEP Wed, Sun 10-16. Seelackenmuseum: MAY to SEP Wed 13-16, 19-21, Sun 10-12, 13-16. [2025]
Fee:	Schaubergwerk Sunnpau: Adults EUR 15, Children (6-16) EUR 8, Children (4-5) free. Groups (8+): Adults EUR 12, Children (6-16) EUR 6. Seelackenmuseum: Adults EUR 5, Children (6-16) EUR 2.50, Children (0-5) free. Groups (8+): Adults EUR 4, Children (6-16) EUR 1.50. [2025]
Classification:	Copper Mine Oldest Mines Fire-setting
Light:	Electric Light
Dimension:	T=8 °C.
Guided tours:	D=60 min, MinAge=4.
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:
Address:	Schaubergwerk Sunnpau, Stein 36, 5621 St. Veit im Pongau, Cell: +43-664-9981-6314. E-mail: Seelackenmuseum, Museumsweg 1, 5621 St.Veit im Pongau, Tel: +43-660-1228-855. E-mail:
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

1543	50 tons of copper ore mined in 19 mines.
14th century	mines reopened to produce copper for the gold production.
17th century	mine closed after demand of copper vanished.
18th century	reopened by order of Kaiserin Maria Theresia.
1875	mine finally closed.
1985	Archaeological excavations by the Universities of Southampton and Innsbruck at Klinglberg.
1990	archaeological excavation of the mine.
2006	end of excavation.
2007	opened as a show mine.
2009	1700-year-old clay miner’s lamp found.

Geology

Description

The Schaubergwerk Sunnpau has 4,000 years of history. Mining started in prehistoric times, when the miners used fires and water to crack the rock, in the Middle Ages they used hammer and chisel, and later the use of black powder revolutionized mining. Its one of the oldest mines in Europe, similar in age to the salt mine in Hallstadt.

In the Bronze Age copper was quite important for the production of bronze. At this time only flint and bronze tools existed, so it was difficult to mine the ore. But they had a slow but efficient technique, making a fire in front of the orebody. The hot ore expanded, and then they threw a bucket of cold water on the ore, and it cooled immediately and cracked. Afterwards it was quite simple to break it into pieces and collect them. The Mine fire-setting mining technique worked well but required a lot of wood, and it was slow. But the reason why the mines were abandoned the first time was simply the end of the Bronze Age. The copper was not valuable any more and the mines were closed.

They were forgotten for centuries, until they were rediscovered and reopened in the 14th century. The copper was needed for the production of Tauerngold at the furnace in Lend. The Sunnpau mine was owned by the Weitmoser family, a wealthy miner family from Gastein. In the Middle Ages there dozens of pit, searching for the copper ore. The production was quite impressive, for example in the year 1543 50 tons of ore were mined in 19 tunnels. But the gold mining of the Tauern decreased, and so did the need for copper. After a decline during the 16th century the mine was finally closed in the 17th century.

In the 18th century the mine was revived by order of Kaiserin Maria Theresia. It was again closed in 1875 when the mining was not profitable anymore.

The mine was reopened for a last time, between 1990 and 2006, but not for mining. Archaeological excavations revealed a 3000 years old grave of a Celtic miner with several burial gifts. This age is locally called Urnenfelderzeit because it is characterized by urn field burials. Such a bodily burial is exceptional. And the gifts are quite exceptional too, the head of a lance, earthenware, and the skull of a fox. The grave was reconstructed in the show mine, the items are on display in the Seelackenmuseum in nearby St. Veit im Pongau.

The archaeological excavation required the mine to be cleared and secured in order to protect the archaeologists from accidents. Lighting was installed and paths were laid out to facilitate the work. After the excavations were completed, it was found that everything was already prepared with electricity and paths, and relatively little additional work was needed to transform it into a show mine. In addition, it was already well known due to the famous archaeological finds. As a result, it was opened as a show mine after only one year. Both the Seelacken Museum and the show mine are operated by the St. Veit im Pongau Museum Association. They also maintain the Thomas Bernhard Trail, a well-developed themed trail about the writer Thomas Bernhard, who was treated here several times in the sanatorium.

The tour enters the mine through the Erbstollen (adit, drainage tunnel), which was used to drain the mine. Here, both medieval mining with hammer and iron and mining with black powder and dynamite are presented. Then the Matthiasstollen is reached, the Bronze Age part of the mine, which is over 3000 years old. Finally, the Great Hall is reached, with its 10 m high ceiling, it is unique for Bronze Age mining in Central Europe. The reconstruction of the tomb is also located here. After leaving the mine, the Bronze Age smelting furnaces are visited.

We strongly recommend a visit to the Seelacken Museum afterwards. Among other things, the museum has the most important finds from the various archaeological excavations to offer.

The association had a website with the domain schaubergwerk-sunnpau.at, but they gave it up in order to create a new domain with the name of their association. All three of the sites they manage are described there, the design is pleasant and the pages are informative. In fact, the change is very welcome, as the old frame-based design was somewhat impractical. In addition, the website also offers a free audio guide for download. The old domain has since been taken over by a group of fans, but the planned photo gallery has been delayed for over two years.