Caves and mines
Caves, grottoes and abandoned mine shafts in Thuringia entice visitors into an unknown fairytale world. The Saalfeld Fairy Grottoes belong to the most famous ones. They are even listed in the Guinness Book of records as "the most colourful grottoes in the world". The Sondershausen Adventure Mine is also used for festive and sporting functions and the mythical Barbarossa's Cave is a source of excitement and delight. The Marienglashöhle Visitor Mines near Friedrichroda belong to the largest crystallised gypsum grottoes in Europe. Former mines like the Rabensteiner Stollen Mine in the Southern Harz take the visitors on a trip into the past of mining.
Caves and mines
Hundreds of years ago, Gera's citizens created a regular labyrinth for the storage of beer underneath the houses in the Old Quarter.The passageways, niches and vaults are up to eleven metres deep and are called "Höhler" (
Oldest still accessible potassium mine in the world. Ballroom at a depth of 700 metres, a steam hoist, an underground mining museum, slide, underground barge rides.
Various functions in the concert hall. …
"If these grottoes were in America rather than Germany, people would long have come from all over the world to see them!" This was said by Professor Ernst Haeckel, a famous naturalist in his time, in 1914, when the Saalfel…
The history of mining began some 1,000 years ago in Thuringia. Originally, it was mostly iron ore that was mined. In 1778, miners discovered deposits of gypsum, which was mined until 1903. It was fired and then sold as stucco.
In the hoisting cage, you travel 500 metres below ground in 90 seconds. Experience a 20-kilometre tour through the mine, underground mining museum, an historic gold room, a unique underground bucket-wheel excavator, simulated blasting and a…
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