Lehenlahn Silver Mine

In the Middle Ages, silver was mined in the Wildschönau area: Two mining galleries from the 18th century tell about those times

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Two mining galleries from the 18th century can be discovered in the Wildschönau area.
© Wildschönau Tourismus
In 1991, the small silver mine was reopened as the Lehenlahn Show Mine.
© Wildschönau Tourismus
In the medieval gallery system there’s also a fairytale tunnel for kids.
© Wildschönau Tourismus

A small silver mine, where miners tried to exploit the precious metal between 1790 and 1861, is hidden in a forest near Thierbach. The miners worked here - only equipped with hammer and chisel - in the cold and darkness inside the mountain. It was the period of the silver and copper mining in Tyrol, and the heyday of the Schwaz Silver Mine. Between 1450 and 1861, this mining area stretched from Schwaz to the Wildschönau, and employed approx. 22,000 miners.

After the closure of the small silver mine it was forgotten for 130 years, and only reopened in 1991 as the Lehenlahn Show Mine. The upper and the lower gallery are connected today by a 42 m long tunnel, and are considered a representative example of the Tyrolean mining tradition.

In the medieval tunnel system of the Lehenlahn Silver Mine (Silberbergwerk Lehenlahn) there is also a fairytale tunnel made of large crystal and fool's gold stones for children, a tool exhibition, and the special show "Edelsteine aus Tirols Bergen" (Gemstones from Tyrol's mountains).