Mining Educational Trail Olbernhau - Brandau
- 5:05 h
- 18.19 km
- 438 m
- 438 m
- 448 m
- 612 m
- 164 m
- Start: Market Olbernhau
- Destination: Market Olbernhau
The Mining & Mineral Association Olbernhau e.V. has existed since 1996. Its mission is to preserve the traces of early mining in the Olbernhau - Brandov area and to investigate the earliest mining explorations through research. http://www.bergbau-live.de
The basis of the association is the Gnade Gottes Erbstollen (1714) at Forstgartenweg in Olbernhau. (Gründelbach)
The Mining Educational Trail connects the local mining traces in the Olbernhau - Brandov (CZ) area. These include the Gnade Gottes Erbstollen, Glück auf shaft and Gabriela mine with slag heap in Brandov, the Saigerhütte Olbernhau-Grünthal with the Kupferhammer, as well as the anthracite waste heap in the Olbernhau district Dörfel. Along the educational trail, information boards explain the former mining area.
Further mining traces can be found near the educational trail (e.g., Hauboldstollen, located in the Rungstocktal).
Marking:
green diagonal
Good to know
Pavements
- Unknown (24%)Street (1%)Asphalt (59%)Gravel (3%)Trail (10%)Path (4%)
Best to visit
- suitableDepends on weather
Directions
Starting point:
Parking lot Rittergut / Postplatz
Route (circular hiking trail):The market in Olbernhau is crossed, then we turn into Grünthaler Straße. At the town hall, turn left over the Flöha. Immediately after the Kegelbrücke bridge, turn sharply right onto Tempelweg. Tempelweg leads into Brettmühlenweg, which we follow towards Poppsches Gut. (Street - Zum Poppschen Gut). At Poppsches Gut (location of the educational trail board), turn left uphill towards Forstgartenweg. Past the sheep farm, head into the forest (location of the educational trail board) and reach the Gnade Gottes Erbstollen with Huthaus and outbuildings, educational trail and info boards. Tours in the mine tunnel are possible by phone appointment - Tel. 0174 4402380.
The paved Forstgartenweg leads uphill to the Kalten Kober (crossing, highest point). Here we leave the paved road to the right and walk to the former Swiss House. In front of the property, a field path leads downhill to the Preißlerberg. Here we enter the Hüttengrund, where we follow the EB (red), the E3 (blue), and the yellow marking uphill. Upon reaching Kirchweg, keep right, pass the Tiefen Graben and reach Alte Straße, which we follow to Zechenweg. At Zechenweg, turn left uphill to the forest edge. There, turn right onto the KAMMWEG (blue), which we follow to Sachsenweg (location of the educational trail board at the railway crossing).
At the Sachsenweg - Wettinweg junction, follow right towards Hirschberg. After a short section on the main road, reach the Hirschberg border crossing for hikers and cyclists. After the border bridge over the Schweinitz, veer half-left and pass Brandov cemetery. At the Brandov church, turn left onto the main road. Follow this road to the exit of Brandov.
There, turn right uphill, passing the slag heap towards Gabriela mine. The descending route leads to the main road, which we follow to the gas station at former Böhmisch Grünthal (gas station) and further to the border crossing. Past the Kupferhammer, the path leads into the UNESCO World Heritage component monument complex Saigerhütte Olbernhau-Grünthal. On the ridge path, we leave the Saigerhütte through the small Hüttenpforde past the mill pond to the Saigerhütte parking lot. Rothenthaler Straße is crossed towards the industrial area. From here, follow the EB (red) marking to the Heidenweg - Königsweg junction. Straight over Heidenweg, passing the anthracite slag heap, to Dörfel and via Heidenweg to Rübenauer Weg. At the station, cross the tracks and Brandauer Straße, then via Bahnhofstraße arrive at the starting point market.
Tour information
Cultural Interesting
Loop Road
Equipment
Broken-in hiking shoes
Hiking T-shirt for changing.
Rain pants.
Insulation jacket.
Cap or headband.
Sunglasses
if necessary, hat and gloves.
Adjustable hiking poles.
Hiking backpack (approx. 20 liters or as needed)
Directions & Parking facilities
Additional information
Hiking map: GeoSN Dresden sheet 27 Central Erzgebirge - Marienberg, Olbernhau 1:25,000
Interactive map of the Erzgebirge Tourism Association e.V.
www.outdooractive.com
Literature
- Introductory literature and standard works: History of German mining, Volume 1: Old European Mining. From the beginnings until the mid-18th century, ed. by Christoph Bartels and Rainer Slotta, Münster 2012 Ludwig, Karl-Heinz / Schmidtchen, Volker: Metals and Power 1000 to 1600 (Propyläen Technikgeschichte 2), Berlin 1992 (special edition 1997) Bartels, Christoph: Montanwesen, in: Encyclopedia of Modern Times, ed. by Friedrich Jaeger, Volume 8: Manufacture - Natural History, Stuttgart etc. 2008, pp. 746-764 Mining in the Erzgebirge. Technical monuments and history, ed. by Otfried Wagenbreth and Eberhard Wächtler, Leipzig 1990 (reprint Heidelberg 2013) The Silver Ground. Art and Mining in Saxony, ed. by Manfred Bachmann, Harald Marx and Eberhard Wächtler, Stuttgart / Leipzig 1990 Lahl, Bernd / Kugler, Jens: Everything comes from the mine - the great book about mining in the Erzgebirge, Chemnitz 2005 Silver rush and mining excitement. Archaeology of medieval mining in Saxony and Bohemia, ed. by Regina Smolnik, Langenweissbach 2014 Laube, Adolf: Studies on Erzgebirge silver mining from 1470 to 1546 (Research on medieval history 22), Berlin 1974
Author
Matthias Drechsel
Organization
Olbernhau - Mitten im Erzgebirge
Author´s Tip / Recommendation of the author
- This route represents a highlight for all those interested in the history of mining in the Olbernhau-Brandov (CZ) area. Numerous traces of early mining can be discovered.
Map
- Hiking map Olbernhau GeoSN sheet 27 (1:25000)
Download GPX file



