Deutsches Schieferbergwerk, Mining museum in Mayen, Germany.

The Deutsches Schieferbergwerk is an adventure mine and museum 16 metres beneath the Genovevaburg in Mayen. Its 340-metre labyrinth of tunnels began as an air-raid shelter built late in the Second World War, where around 3,000 civilians sheltered from the air raids of December 1944 and January 1945. Visitors descend by lift in a miner's helmet and protective jacket to see machinery, old mine carts, cable saws, walking excavators and pneumatic hammers.

The mine developed during periods when slate extraction was economically vital to the region. The underground spaces later served as an air raid shelter during World War II for thousands of local residents.

The tunnels began as a World War II air-raid shelter that protected around 3,000 civilians during the raids of 12 December 1944 and 2 January 1945, when Mayen was about 90 percent destroyed. Visitors today walk the 340-metre labyrinth with a mine helmet and protective jacket, passing old mine carts, rope saws, giant walking excavators and heavy pneumatic hammers.

Visitors reach the tunnels by lift and are issued a miner's helmet and protective jacket before descending. The temperature underground stays at about 8 °C all year, so warm clothing is needed even in summer. The 340-metre passage network is level and walked on foot.

Visitors can experience a simulated mine cart ride that recreates the daily conditions of workers underground. This journey offers a firsthand sense of the difficult work and circumstances that miners faced in the tunnels.