Zinngrube Ehrenfriedersdorf

Besucherbergwerk im Sauberg

Useful Information

Ehrenfriedersdorfer Radpumpe, In: **Georgius Agricola** (1555): **De Re Metallica Libri II**, p. 158.

Location:	Ehrenfriedersdorf
Open:	Museum: All year Tue-Sun, Hol 10-17. Erlebnisführung: All year Tue-Sun 10, 14. Touristikführung: All year Sat, Sun, Hol 11, 13, 15. School holidays daily 11, 13, 15. Closed 24-DEC, 25-DEC, 31-DEC, 01-JAN. [2011]
Fee:	Museum: Adults EUR 3, Children (6-18) EUR 2. Erlebnisführung: Adults EUR 17, Children (10-18) EUR 11, Children (0-9) not allowed, Students EUR 11, Family (2+2) EUR 48. Groups (15+): Adults EUR 16, Children (6-16) EUR 10.50, Students EUR 10.50. Groups (40+): Adults EUR 14, Children (6-16) EUR 9.50, Students EUR 9.50. Touristikführung: Adults EUR 11, Children (6-18) EUR 7, Children (0-5) not allowed, Students EUR 7, Family (2+2) EUR 31. Groups (15+): Adults EUR 10, Children (6-16) EUR 6.50, Students EUR 6.50. Groups (40+): Adults EUR 9, Children (6-16) EUR 6, Students EUR 6. [2011]
Classification:	Tin Mine Speleotherapy
Light:	Incandescent Electric Light System
Dimension:
Guided tours:	T=100 m, T=10 °C, H=95%. D=3 h. Minimum age 10 years.
Photography:
Accessibility:
Bibliography:	Erlebnisführung: D=3 h, HD=100 m, L=1,500 m, T=10 °C, H=95%. Minimum age 10 years. Touristikführung: D=1.5 h. Minimum age 6 years.
Address:	Zinngrube Ehrenfriedersdorf, Am Sauberg 1, 09427 Ehrenfriedersdorf, Tel: +49-37341-2257, Fax: +49-37341-50159. 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

3-OCT-1990	tin mine closed.
1995	show mine opened to the public.
1997	inauguration of the mine train Sauberg Express.
1997	Heilstollen (speleotherapy) opened to the public.

Geology

Description

The show mine at Ehrenfriedersdorf was opened only a view years after the mine was closed. The level at 100 m depth was used, but despite necessary security modifications the mine was left in its original state. The visitors get helmet, overall, rubber boots and light. Guided by former miners the visitors can get a glimpse of the atmosphere of an operating mine. The mining technology from the Middle Ages to the 20th century is presented vividly. At 20 stops the mining equipment is not only explained but also demonstrated.

In the museum there is an extraordinary exhibition with more than 1,000 specimens. In the mine at Ehrenfriedersdorf some 150 different minerals could be found. The museum has models of the mine and there is also an exhibition of finds from the Middle Ages.

An important sight is the reconstruction of an Ehrenfriedersdorfer Radpumpe (wheel driven pump of Ehrenfriedersdorf). It was reconstructed at the Heinzenschacht (Heinz shaft) on the Tiefen Sauberger Stolln (deep Suaberg tunnel) according to historic documents. A water wheel with a diameter of almost 4 m is powering a pump which lifts the groundwater from the sump to the adit. The water wheel is located in an old wheel chamber in which around 1563 a water wheel was installed to drive a pump. The Ehrenfriedersdorfer Radpumpe was probably invented around 1540 by local mechanics. Thats how Georgius Agricola describes it in his book De re metallica in 1555. The invention of this waterdriven water pump was an important achievement of the late Middle Ages. It dominated mining all over the wolrd until the 19th century and was of enormous economic importance. It may be called the most important contribution of mining in the Erzgebirge to the progress of technology.