In the history of Schladming, mining played a central role for centuries. It reached its peak between 1300 and 1500. After a series of booms and busts, it was ultimately discontinued at the end of the 19th century. Many stories, myths, and legends have lingered on. But we also encounter tangible and visible things such as mining tunnels and valuable relics at two remarkable museums. How did the miners live in the past? How did they work? What treasures did they search and dig for in the Schladming Tauern mountains? How did they find, transport, and refine them? These are just a few questions about a long-gone era that had such a significant impact on the development of the region around Schladming. You can find many answers in the upper Obertal valley. There, you can even explore the inside of an old silver mine.
Dare to enter the mysterious Anna Tunnel!
The Anna Tunnel in the Bromriesen mine offers you the opportunity to learn a lot about the working life of miners deep inside the mountain. For safety reasons, a trained tunnel guide will accompany you. Before entering the "subterranean world", you will be outfitted with a helmet, protective jacket, and lamp. On the way into the mountain, you will already see visible traces of past mining methods, techniques such as "fire-setting", chiseling and blasting. You will climb ladders to higher parts of the tunnel. Here, you will get a good sense of how hard the daily work of the miners must have been. If you are particularly brave, you will have the option of exiting the tunnel through the airshaft. It is tight and you can only crawl forward on all fours. But don't worry! There is a much easier way of getting out as well.
Discover the Nickel Museum in the restored smelting furnace!
Not far from the Anna Tunnel, the nickel smelting furnace in Hopfriesen is the only surviving ruin of a non-ferrous metal smelting plant in the Eastern Alps. It was built in 1840 and restored with great attention to detail 160 years later. Here, you can learn about the processing of ores at an original location. The Nickel Museum is a small-though-outstanding museum that focuses on the processing and use of the metal nickel. Additional sites such as the pounding mill on the Giglachbach, where the raw ore was crushed, or the Kohlstatt, where the charcoal necessary for roasting the ore was produced, round off the museum experience in Hopfriesen. It is open on Wednesday and Friday mornings in summertime.
Learn more about mining life at the Town Museum in Schladming!
The Bruderladenhaus, built in Schladming in 1661, was an important meeting place for people who were actively involved in mining at that time. Today, the Town Museum housed inside the building provides fascinating insights into the development of this community from a mining stronghold to a bustling tourism destination in the mountains. A considerable part of it is dedicated to the builders of the building, the miners themselves. Their dangerous profession. Their tools. Their way of life. In the Bruderladenhaus, injured miners were cared for and able to recover. Orphans or widows of deceased miners also found refuge at this social institution.
Did you know...?
A few significant events in the history of mining in Schladming
13th century
Significant silver deposits are discovered in the Schladming Tauern mountains.
1304
Duchess Elisabeth grants special rights to the Schladming miners.
1408
Mining judge Leonhard Egkelzain and his council draft the legendary Schladming Mining Charter.
1525
Due to peasant and miner uprisings and the destruction of the town, mining comes to a halt. Many attempts to revive mining follow in subsequent decades, primarily with the help of German investors.
Early 18th century
Silver mining comes to a halt.
1746-1818
Cobalt mining
1832-1875
Nickel mining
