The 140-kilometre-long road, the Silver Road (german: Silberstraße) is the first and longest

holiday route A scenic route, tourist road, tourist route, tourist drive, holiday route, theme route, or scenic byway is a specially designated road or waterway that travels through an area of natural or cultural beauty. It often passes by scenic viewpoint ...

in the German

Free State of Saxony Free may refer to: Concept * Freedom, having the ability to do something, without having to obey anyone/anything * Freethought, a position that beliefs should be formed only on the basis of logic, reason, and empiricism * Emancipate, to procure ...

. Against the background of the importance of

mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic via ...

in the history of Saxony, the road links those sights and tourist attractions of the Ore Mountains and its foreland that relate to the centuries-old mining and smelting industries of the region.

Background

Mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic via ...

in the Ore Mountains has a history reaching back more than 800 years. At the outset this was dominated especially by

silver Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...

mining, its supplier industries and shareholders.

Mine Mine, mines, miners or mining may refer to: Extraction or digging * Miner, a person engaged in mining or digging *Mining, extraction of mineral resources from the ground through a mine Grammar *Mine, a first-person English possessive pronoun ...

smelter Smelting is a process of applying heat to ore, to extract a base metal. It is a form of extractive metallurgy. It is used to extract many metals from their ores, including Silver mining#Ore processing, silver, iron-making, iron, copper extracti ...

s and

mint MiNT is Now TOS (MiNT) is a free software alternative operating system kernel for the Atari ST system and its successors. It is a multi-tasking alternative to TOS and MagiC. Together with the free system components fVDI device drivers, XaA ...

s emerged, which in turn gave rise to

tradition A tradition is a belief or behavior (folk custom) passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examples include holidays or ...

s and

customs Customs is an authority or agency in a country responsible for collecting tariffs and for controlling the flow of goods, including animals, transports, personal effects, and hazardous items, into and out of a country. Traditionally, customs ...

, many of which survive to the present day. Several technological monuments, especially

show mine A mine, i.e. an industrial facility for the underground extraction of mineral commodities, has three operating phases: it may be open or running, or closed or it may be a working museum. Most mines are simply closed once they are no longer produc ...

s and

hammer mill A hammer mill, hammer forge or hammer works was a workshop in the pre- industrial era that was typically used to manufacture semi-finished, wrought iron products or, sometimes, finished agricultural or mining tools, or military weapons. The feat ...

s, that characterise the highlands and the way of life in the Ore Mountain region, led to the development of the tourist route. The present day Silver Road recalls the historic ore transport routes - the Silver Wagon Way (''Silberwagenweg'') from

Annaberg-Buchholz Annaberg-Buchholz () is a town in Saxony, Germany. Lying in the Ore Mountains, it is the capital of the district of Erzgebirgskreis. Geography The town is located in the Ore Mountains, at the side of the ''Pöhlberg'' ( above sea level). ...

via

Wolkenstein Wolkenstein is a town in the district Erzgebirgskreis, in Saxony, Germany. It is situated in the Ore Mountains, on the river Zschopau, 22 km southeast of Chemnitz. The town is situated on a rocky spur near the confluence of Zschopau and ...

Lengefeld Lengefeld is a town and a former municipality in the district Erzgebirgskreis, in the Free State of Saxony, Germany. It is situated in the Ore Mountains, 23 km southeast of Chemnitz. On 1 January 2014 it was merged with the municipality Pock ...

and

Brand-Erbisdorf Brand-Erbisdorf () is a small town in the district of Mittelsachsen, in Saxony, Germany. It is situated 5 km south of Freiberg. As of 2020, the town has a population of 9,145. History The town is first mentioned in 1209 as ''Erlwinesberc'' ...

Freiberg Freiberg is a university and former mining town in Saxony, Germany. It is a so-called ''Große Kreisstadt'' (large county town) and the administrative centre of Mittelsachsen district. Its historic town centre has been placed under heritage c ...

and the old Silver Road (''Silberstraße'') from Scharfenberg to Freiberg. It symbolises the silver routes from the silver mines in the Ore Mountains to the ore preparation sites, and along the course of the historic Prince's Way through the

Tharandt Forest The Tharandt Forest (german: Tharandter Wald) is a landscape in the centre of the German Free State of Saxony and lies southwest of the forest town of Tharandt, south of the town of Wilsdruff, roughly between the cities of Freiberg and Dresde ...

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth larg ...

to the ''

Grünes Gewölbe The Green Vault (german: Grünes Gewölbe) is a museum located in Dresden, Germany, which contains the largest treasure collection in Europe. The museum was founded in 1723 by Augustus the Strong of Poland and Saxony, and it features a variety of ...

'', the treasure house of the royal Wettin family.

Route

Beginning in

Zwickau Zwickau (; is, with around 87,500 inhabitants (2020), the fourth-largest city of Saxony after Leipzig, Dresden and Chemnitz and it is the seat of the Zwickau District. The West Saxon city is situated in the valley of the Zwickau Mulde (German: ' ...

the Silver Road runs through the

mining town A mining community, also known as a mining town or a mining camp, is a community that houses miners. Mining communities are usually created around a mine or a quarry. Historic mining communities Australia * Ballarat, Victoria * Bendigo, ...

of Schneeberg, the towns of

Aue Aue may refer to: * Aue (toponymy), a frequent element in German toponymy meaning "wetland; river island; river" Places * Aue, Saxony, a mining town in Saxony, Germany * Aue (Samtgemeinde), a collective municipality in Uelzen District, Lower Sax ...

, Schwarzenberg, the mining towns of Annaberg-Buchholz,

Ehrenfriedersdorf Ehrenfriedersdorf () is a town in the district of Erzgebirgskreis, in Saxony, Germany. It is situated 8 km northwest of Annaberg-Buchholz, and 21 km south of Chemnitz Chemnitz (; from 1953 to 1990: Karl-Marx-Stadt , ) is the third-la ...

, Wolkenstein,

Marienberg Marienberg is a town in Germany. It was the district capital of the Mittlerer Erzgebirgskreis (Central Ore Mountains district) in the southern part of Saxony, and since August 2008 it has been part of the new district of Erzgebirgskreis. As of ...

, Lengefeld, Sayda and Brand-Erbisdorf to Freiberg and from thence continues to the Saxon state capital of Dresden. The route coincides roughly with that of the B 93, B 169, B 101, B 171 and B 173 federal roads as well as the S 194 state road. Southeast of Zwickau, it runs through the eponymous village of Silberstraße. Between Annaberg and

and between the Brand-Erbisdorf and Freiberg, it also follows in places the course of the so-called Silver Wagon Way (''Silberwagenweg''), an old

post Post or POST commonly refers to: *Mail, the postal system, especially in Commonwealth of Nations countries **An Post, the Irish national postal service **Canada Post, Canadian postal service **Deutsche Post, German postal service **Iraqi Post, Ira ...

and

trade route A trade route is a logistical network identified as a series of pathways and stoppages used for the commercial transport of cargo. The term can also be used to refer to trade over bodies of water. Allowing goods to reach distant markets, a sing ...

. Likewise, between Freiberg and Naundorf, it follow the route of the historic Silver Road (''Silberstraße'') that ran from Scharfenberg on the

River Elbe The Elbe (; cs, Labe ; nds, Ilv or ''Elv''; Upper and dsb, Łobjo) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Repu ...

to Freiberg, and in the direction of Dresden it also follows the old Prince's Way (''Fürstenweg'') through the Tharandt Forest. From Zwickau to Dresden, the Silver Road is accompanied by the Silver Road Cycle Path.

Sights

The Silver Road opens up to the public the numerous physical relics of Saxony's mining past, including for example the Reiche Zeche and Alte Elisabeth Educational and Research Mine, the

Dorfchemnitz Iron Hammer Mill Eisenhammer Dorfchemnitz is an historic hammer mill in Dorfchemnitz in the Ore Mountains of Germany. The mill is an important witness to proto-industrial development in the Ore Mountains. Of the once-numerous hammer mills only three others ...

and

Frohnauer Hammer The Frohnauer Hammer is an historic hammer mill in Frohnau, a village in the municipality of Annaberg-Buchholz in the Ore Mountains of southeast Germany. The mill is an important witness to proto-industrial development in the Ore Mountains. O ...

. Many Late Gothic

hall church A hall church is a church with a nave and aisles of approximately equal height, often united under a single immense roof. The term was invented in the mid-19th century by Wilhelm Lübke, a pioneering German art historian. In contrast to an archi ...

es (e.g. St Wolfgang's, St Anne's, St Mary's,

Freiberg Cathedral The Freiberg Cathedral or Cathedral of St Mary (german: Dom St. Marien) is a church of the Evangelical-Lutheran Church of Saxony in Freiberg in Saxony. The term Dom, a German synecdoche used for collegiate churches and cathedrals alike, is ofte ...

Saxon Renaissance The Saxon Renaissance (in German: ''Sächsische Renaissance'') is a regional type of architecture from the Renaissance particularly in the area of the Electorate of Saxony on the middle Elbe. Influences that formed the style came primarily from ...

buildings and a great number of local churches with

works of art A work of art, artwork, art piece, piece of art or art object is an artistic creation of aesthetic value. Except for "work of art", which may be used of any work regarded as art in its widest sense, including works from literature ...

in terms of

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing building ...

painting Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ...

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

and

church organ Carol Williams performing at the United States Military Academy West Point Cadet Chapel.">West_Point_Cadet_Chapel.html" ;"title="United States Military Academy West Point Cadet Chapel">United States Military Academy West Point Cadet Chapel. ...

building (

Gottfried Silbermann Gottfried Silbermann (January 14, 1683 – August 4, 1753) was a German builder of keyboard instruments. He built harpsichords, clavichords, organs, and fortepianos; his modern reputation rests mainly on the latter two. Life Very little is kn ...

) demonstrate the wealth of the former mining region. In the old royal capital of Saxony, Dresden, the proceeds of the silver mining contributed to a significant proportion of the investment in the Dresden State Art Collections and in architectural monuments. The Silver Road holiday route is a very good start to get to know the Ore Mountains. The road is signed with a silver "S" and, in places, is identical to the German Avenue Road. Many of the events along the Silver Road offer an insight into miners' parades,

Christmas traditions Christmas traditions include a variety of customs, religious practices, rituals, and folklore associated with the celebration of Christmas. Many of these traditions vary by country or region, while others are practiced in a virtually identical m ...

and

folklore Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, ranging ...

. In the fields of

craft A craft or trade is a pastime or an occupation that requires particular skills and knowledge of skilled work. In a historical sense, particularly the Middle Ages and earlier, the term is usually applied to people occupied in small scale prod ...

s and

handicraft A handicraft, sometimes more precisely expressed as artisanal handicraft or handmade, is any of a wide variety of types of work where useful and decorative objects are made completely by one’s hand or by using only simple, non-automated re ...

s, the region is particularly well known for its

wood carving Wood carving is a form of woodworking by means of a cutting tool (knife) in one hand or a chisel by two hands or with one hand on a chisel and one hand on a mallet, resulting in a wooden figure or figurine, or in the sculptural ornamentation ...

, bobbin lace and

pewter Pewter () is a malleable metal alloy consisting of tin (85–99%), antimony (approximately 5–10%), copper (2%), bismuth, and sometimes silver. Copper and antimony (and in antiquity lead) act as hardeners, but lead may be used in lower grades of ...

as well as the manufacture of the world-renowned

Christmas pyramid Christmas pyramids (german: Weihnachtspyramide) are Christmas decorations that have their roots in the folklore and customs of the Ore Mountain region of Germany, but which have become popular internationally. They comprise a decorated pyramidal ...

nativity scene In the Christianity, Christian tradition, a nativity scene (also known as a manger scene, crib, crèche ( or ), or in Italian language, Italian ''presepio'' or ''presepe'', or Bethlehem) is the special exhibition, particularly during the Christ ...

nutcracker A nutcracker is a tool designed to open nuts by cracking their shells. There are many designs, including levers, screws, and ratchets. The lever version is also used for cracking lobster and crab shells. A decorative version portrays a person w ...

s, smoking figures and other

Ore Mountain folk art Ore Mountain folk art (german: link=no, Erzgebirgische Volkskunst) is a well-known form of highly artistic wood carving from East Germany. It encompasses the diverse forms of expression of the creative work beyond the classical or the modern arts ...

Literature

* Harry Beyrich: ''Eine Touristenstraße durch das Silberne Erzgebirge.'' In: ''Sächsische Heimatblätter'', Heft 5/1991, pp. 316. * Harry Beyrich: ''Die Erzgebirgische Silberstraße.'' In: ''Mitteilungen des Landesvereins Sächsischer Heimatschutz'', Heft 1/1993, pp. 8–17. * Tourismusverband Erzgebirge: ''Erlebnis Bergbau entlang der Silberstraße.'' Annaberg-Buchholz, 2007. * Horst Ziethen: ''Entdeckungsreise durch das Erzgebirge. Eine idyllische Mittelgebirgsreise ins Weihnachtsland und entlang der Silberstraße.'' Ziethen-Panorama-Verlag, Bad Münstereifel, 2005, .

External links

Website of the Silver Road
{{Authority control German tourist routes Culture of Saxony Roads in Saxony Transport in the Ore Mountains Mining in the Ore Mountains Mittelsachsen Freiberg

Background

Route

Sights

See also

Literature

External links