Ore Mountain Museum
Encyclopedia
The Ore Mountain Museum is a museum in Annaberg-Buchholz
in the German state of Saxony
and located in the Ore Mountains
of Central Europe. Its display includes examples of Ore Mountain folk art
, especially carvings, bobbin work and passements) and gives an insight into the history of the town of Annaberg and of silver mining in the region. The museum also owns a work from the workshop of Lucas Cranach the Younger from 1572 and a large collection of valuable pewter vessels. Adjoining the museum is the visitor mine of Im Gößner.
. In 1905, there was an initiative by the Ore Mountain Club
, who supported the museum financially and in other ways until 1927, to rename it to the Ore Mountain Museum. The profile of the museum was heavily influenced by its first curator and local historian, Emil Finck.
During construction work in 1992 in the area of the museum a gallery system with lots of branches from was discovered. This was dated to the early days of the silver mining industry in Annaberg around 1500 and, in August 1995, it was opened to the public.
Annaberg-Buchholz
Annaberg-Buchholz is a town in the Free State of Saxony, Germany, in the Erzgebirge, capital of the district Erzgebirgskreis.The town is located in the Ore Mountains, at the side of the Pöhlberg . It has three Protestant churches, among them that of St...
in the German state of Saxony
Saxony
The Free State of Saxony is a landlocked state of Germany, contingent with Brandenburg, Saxony Anhalt, Thuringia, Bavaria, the Czech Republic and Poland. It is the tenth-largest German state in area, with of Germany's sixteen states....
and located in the Ore Mountains
Ore Mountains
The Ore Mountains in Central Europe have formed a natural border between Saxony and Bohemia for many centuries. Today, the border between Germany and the Czech Republic runs just north of the main crest of the mountain range...
of Central Europe. Its display includes examples of Ore Mountain folk art
Ore Mountain folk art
Ore Mountain folk art is a well-known form of highly artistic wood carving from East Germany. Typical creations include Christmas decorations and products such as wooden miners' figures , Christmas angels , Reifendrehen figures of animals made by wood turning, Räuchermann figures and Christmas...
, especially carvings, bobbin work and passements) and gives an insight into the history of the town of Annaberg and of silver mining in the region. The museum also owns a work from the workshop of Lucas Cranach the Younger from 1572 and a large collection of valuable pewter vessels. Adjoining the museum is the visitor mine of Im Gößner.
History
The museum was established in 1887 as the Museum of Ore Mountain Antiquities (Museum erzgebirgischer Alterthümer) and was initially housed in the town hall in Annaberg. The basis of its presentations is formed from the private collections and donations of Annaberg's townsfolk. As a result of the rapid expansion of the exhibition, it moved in 1891 to its present home opposite St. Anne's ChurchSt. Anne's Church, Annaberg-Buchholz
St. Anne's Church in Annaberg-Buchholz is a hall church on the threshold between Late Gothic and Renaissance and with a length of 65 metres and width of 40 metres, the largest, proper hall church of the Late Gothic in Saxony. Its tower is 78 metres high, the interior of the church...
. In 1905, there was an initiative by the Ore Mountain Club
Ore Mountain Club
The Ore Mountain Club is one of the oldest and most tradition-steeped local history, mountain and hiking clubs in Germany. The club was founded in 1878. After the Second World War the club and its many branches were banned by the East German authorities, but it was refounded in West Germany in...
, who supported the museum financially and in other ways until 1927, to rename it to the Ore Mountain Museum. The profile of the museum was heavily influenced by its first curator and local historian, Emil Finck.
During construction work in 1992 in the area of the museum a gallery system with lots of branches from was discovered. This was dated to the early days of the silver mining industry in Annaberg around 1500 and, in August 1995, it was opened to the public.