Drei Kronen & Ehrt, Historical mine in Oberharz am Brocken, Germany
Drei Kronen & Ehrt is an old mine in Oberharz am Brocken that features deep tunnels and chambers carved into special Devonian limestone. The structure follows natural rock layers where ores were extracted.
The mine started operations in 1530 as Grube Himmelsfürst and later became a major source of pyrite. By the mid-20th century, it employed hundreds of workers who processed ore for chemical purposes.
The site shows how people in this region lived and worked with mining. In the tunnels you find old machines and tools that reveal how difficult and dangerous this work was.
Public access to the mine is no longer possible, as guided tours ended in 2015 and the infrastructure is no longer maintained. It is worth checking in advance if visits by special groups or guided tours may be arranged.
The pyrite extracted here was bound to a special limestone formation found only in this region. This made the mine the only source of pyrite of this kind in former East Germany until 1990.
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