Stollen, Show mine and uranium mine in Weißenstadt, Germany.
Stollen is a former mining operation with underground tunnels that reveal historical extraction techniques and geological layers. The site displays traces of both uranium and tin mining with visible rock formations throughout its passages.
Stollen originated as a mining operation in the Weißenstadt region and was used for extracting uranium and tin. The site shaped the area's industrial past and demonstrates mining's importance to local development.
The adit is part of the Bayern-Böhmen Geopark and is reached by a circular trail from the forest-edge car park on Bergstraße, with information boards explaining the open-cast tin workings and medieval placer deposits along the way. Guided tours have been offered since summer 2016, but only in the summer months because the tunnels serve as a winter roost for bats.
The mine lies in the forest between Bad Weißenstadt and the Schneeberg; the circular trail starts at the visitor car park at the forest edge, reached via Bergstraße from Weißenstadt. Guided tours have been offered since summer 2016 and run only in the summer months, because the tunnels serve bats as a winter roost; advance booking is required. The tunnel entrance is heavily reinforced and there is an open-air exhibition area.
In 1956, 62 medals were struck from Weißenstadt uranium for the Maxhütte, using blanks cut from a nuclear reactor fuel rod. One of them, weighing 55 grams and 40 millimetres across, is kept at the German Mining Museum in Bochum. The metal is brittle and oxidises quickly, so surviving pieces are often damaged.
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