Bergmagazin Marienberg

Useful Information

Location:	Am Kaiserteich 3, 09496 Marienberg. (50.649270, 13.155903)
Open:	All year Tue-Sun, Hol 10-16. Closed 24-DEC, 31-DEC. [2022]
Fee:	Adults EUR 3, Children (0-16) free, Pupils EUR 2.50, Students EUR 2.50, Apprentices EUR 2.50. Groups (10+): 10 % discount. [2022]
Classification:	Mining Museum
Light:	Incandescent Electric Light System
Dimension:
Guided tours:	self guided
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	yes
Bibliography:
Address:	Bergmagazin Marienberg, Museum sächsisch-böhmisches Erzgebirge, Am Kaiserteich 3, 09496 Marienberg, Tel: +49-3735-6681290, Fax: +49-3735-66812922. 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

1806-1809	Bergmagazin built.
1809	use as a granary.
1858	Military hospital of the garrison for infantry.
1873	Military hospital of the NCO school.
1920	Owner Imperial Treasury or Saxon War Ministry.
1922	use by chocolate factory Alfred Hertel and Marienberger vehicle factory MAFA of the brothers Sättler.
1936	municipality buys the building at auction for 1700 RM.
1935	glider school and border guard.
1936	training room for the NS motorcycle squadron.
1939	handover to the German Wehrmacht.
1945	emergency shelter for war refugees.
1956	used by the army (NVA), 7. Motschützenregiment Marienberg of the 7. Panzerdivision Dresden.
1969	used by the VEB OGS Marienberg als fruit storage and for maturing bananas.
1993	transferred to the municipality.
2006	museum opened to the public.

Description

Das Bergmagazin Marienberg is the former granary of the mining town, comparable buildings also existed in Annaberg, Schneeberg, Freiberg, or Johanngeorgenstadt. The construction of mining magazines in the Electorate and Kingdom of Saxony took place increasingly from 1806 onwards at the suggestion of Chief Mining Officer Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich von Trebra. They were the result of several famines in the Ore Mountains at the end of the 18th century. The communities did not have their own food supply, they bought food with the income from mining, but were at a disadvantage in years with poor harvests. Grain could be stored for years in the multi-storey stone warehouse buildings, so grain was bought immediately after the harvest and deposited here. And yet, the building was used for this purpose only for about 50 years. Then it was used as military chamber, factory, glider school or fruit warehouse. Finally, after the reunification, it was transferred to the municipality and extensively restored with funds from the European Union.

The building is used for the Museum sächsisch-böhmisches Erzgebirge (Museum of Saxon-Bohemian Ore Mountains). This exhibition is unique in the region thanks to its German-Czech character. Historical exhibits, documents, as well as multimedia exhibits in German and Czech languages document Erzgebirge cultural history across borders. The department Erzgebirge – Biografie einer Region (Biography of a Region) presents everyday life and folk culture of the population living here from the Middle Ages to the present. The section Deutsche und Tschechen – Biografie einer Nachbarschaft (Germans and Czechs - Biography of a Neighborhood) documents the political history of the 20th century, which has left its traces in the regions on both sides of the border until today. Finally, Marienberg - Biografie einer Bergstadt (Biography of a Mining Town) presents the local crafts and trades as well as the culture of its inhabitants. The collections of the Heimatmuseum Marienberg (Folk Museum) are the basis of the exhibition, nevertheless the museum is centered on the mining history.