Lauenstein von oben Photo: Phillip Maethner, CC BY-SA, Tourist-Information Altenberg
Altenberger Pinge Photo: Phillip Maethner, CC BY-SA, Tourist-Information Altenberg
Besucherbergwerk Zinnwald Photo: Phillip Maethner, CC BY-SA, Tourist-Information Altenberg
Altenberger Landschaft mit Pinge Photo: Philip Maethner, CC BY-SA, Tourist-Information Altenberg
Besucherbergwerk Zinnwald Photo: Tourist-Info-Büro Mitarbeiter, CC BY-SA, Tourist-Information Altenberg
Besucherbergwerk Zinnwald Photo: Philip Maethner, CC BY-SA, Tourist-Information Altenberg
Luftaufnahme Schloss Lauenstein Photo: Urlaubsregion Altenberg, Egbert Kamprath
Altenberger Pinge Photo: Tourist-Information Altenberg
Besucherbergwerk Zinnwald Photo: Jens Kugler, CC BY-SA, Tourist-Information Altenberg

UNESCO - World Heritage

Logo UNESCO - Welterbe / Montanregion Erzgebirge/Krušnohoří
Photo: Tourismusverband Erzgebirge, CC BY-SA, Tourist-Information Altenberg

Since the beginning of July 2019, the Ore Mountains / Krušnohoří mining region has been on the UNESCO World Heritage List. The site represents mining-related settlement structures, technologies and forms of organization that have shaped the world. From the 12th century on, a cross-border montane cultural landscape has been developed on the basis of raw material deposits, which has been preserved in an authentic way to this day. In the Eastern Ore Mountains, the Altenberg-Zinnwald mining landscape and the former administrative headquarters of Lauenstein are prominent examples of tin mining in the Saxon-Bohemian Ore Mountains. After silver, tin was the second most important metal that was mined and processed in the Ore Mountains. The heyday of tin mining in the Ore Mountains stretched from the 14th to the 16th century, when the Saxon-Bohemian tin production replaced England as the world's largest tin producer. The historical ore IV along with Altenberger Pinge and impressive underground pit cavities provide insights into the mining and processing technologies. Pioneering developments in the field of water retention systems and ore processing are associated with tin ore mining in the Altenberg-Zinnwald mining landscape.

The exceptionally universal value of the Erzgebirge mining region

In order to obtain the World Heritage title, an extraordinarily universal worldwide value of the site is decisive. The abundance of raw materials in the Ore Mountains formed the basis for a mining-based development of the entire region, from which a montane cultural landscape emerged for over 800 years. The mining of silver, tin, cobalt, iron and uranium paved the way for science and innovation in mining and metallurgy. Under the state organization of mining, a training system for the need for skilled workers was developed for the first time worldwide. These developments with a total of 22 components are authentically handed down on the Saxon and Bohemian side through mining landscapes and material evidence. The extraordinary universal value is justified in all 22 components and fulfil three cultural criteria.

The Erzgebirge / Krušnohoří mining region is representative of three key cultural criteria:

The technological and scientific achievements in the field of mine drainage, ore processing, metallurgy and mining science, which came from the Saxon-Bohemian ore mining between the 16th and 20th centuries. The application, further development and worldwide dissemination of these technologies and knowledge are unparalleled on a global scale.

The development of a state-organized mining industry with a direct influence on the mining administration, the education system and the social areas. This development, which served as a model for other mining regions on the European continent, not only revolutionized the administration, but also led to the emergence of a culture based mining.

In the process of shaping the region from the 12th to the 20th century into a world-wide unique cultural landscape shaped by mining. Their different stages of development are visible to this day on the basis of the original mining landscapes, mining and smelting facilities as well as the spacious and well artistically equipped mining towns.