Grube Tannenberg, Show mine in Muldenhammer, Germany.

Grube Tannenberg is a former tin mine in the Saxon Vogtland, south of Tannenbergsthal in the Schneckenstein district, now run as a show mine. Its Tannenbergstolln, formerly the Comun- or Tranksteuer Stolln, cuts about 150 m from the portal into the granite-slate contact zone, where two pipe-shaped greisen bodies were mined. A blind shaft sunk in 1939 reached 89.40 m depth and opened three levels.

Tin ore was mined in the upper Vogtland forests from the late 15th century; in 1506 a mine called Alter Tannenberg was recorded near Gottesberg. Open-cast working gave way to underground mining, and in 1550 a hammer works with a tin smelter was built at Tannenbergsthal. The Tannenberg lode was re-granted in 1917 and passed to the Saxon state in 1936; regular extraction in Greisen I began on 1 October 1941.

The tours show how miners worked underground and what tools they used every day in their job. You can see how tight and physically demanding this work was.

Access to the tunnels requires good footwear and comfort in tight underground spaces. It is wise to dress warmly, as the tunnels stay cool year-round.

The show mine follows the former Comun- or Tranksteuer adit, driven east from 1936 with four crosscuts to reach the Greisen I body, which was struck in 1938 and is also exposed at the surface by the large Tannenberg Pinge. A blind shaft sunk in 1939 reached 89.4 metres, with three levels at 805, 775 and 745 metres above sea level.