Silver Mine Schwaz
Distance to the hotel: 67 km
The silver mine in Schwaz had its heyday in the late Middle Ages as the largest silver mine in the world. Almost 500 years ago, about 7,400 miners were employed daily in the Schwaz mine. The mine made the town of Schwaz the largest and richest mining metropolis in the Middle Ages.
The town was the second largest in the Habsburg Empire after Vienna and up to 85 percent of the silver traded worldwide came from the mine. Mining in Schwaz experienced its height from the 14th to the 18th century. After that, the ore deposits were largely exhausted and became unprofitable. Ore mining ended in 1957. The original length of all the tunnels is estimated at 500 km. The Sigmund-Erbstollen is still the deepest gallery leading to daylight. The adit has a constant temperature of 12°C and a humidity of 99% in summer as well as in winter. In 1989, the Sigmund-Erbstollen was restored and the Schwaz silver mine was opened to the public.