The historic mines and galleries, including prospecting tunnels and “holes”, located in the Geopark communities of Bischofshofen, Mühlbach am Hochkönig, Hüttau and St. Veit im Pongau, are highlights for every visitor. Here, you are immersed in a mystical “world of darkness” and, simultaneously, in the fascinating “world of colorful ores”.
In summer 2019, the team of “Land der Berge” produced a show entitled “Hochkönigs Wanderreich-Wilde Wasser & Bunte Erze” (“Hochkönig’s Hikeable Realm of Wild Waters & Colorful Ores”).
The links to the various reports about Geopark communities can be found here:
Link Bischofshofen: https://youtu.be/dPIc7f5Drwg
Link St. Veit: https://youtu.be/nVUKw1j3KBI
Link Mühlbach: https://youtu.be/bcqBrFfh5TQ
Link Hüttau: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdJ-WqH1_Tc
The Larzenbach – Hüttau mine dates back to the 13th/14th centuries. In impressive fashion, you are able to clearly follow the motherlode of copper ore along the length of the narrow mine gallery.
Located on the Ore Path which runs next to the Buchberg, close to Bischofshofen, we come to Schurfbau Lehen, where miners once prospected for iron.
The historic mine in Mühlbach provides comprehensive insights into mining techniques through the millennia. The Keltenloch (“Celtic Hole”) on the way to the Arthurhaus, at the foot of the Hochkönig, delivers on its promise of a “Journey into Primordial History”. You are certain to be astonished and surprised!
The historic St. Veit Copper Mine impressively presents mining activities in the prehistoric Sunnpau Mine. Even 4000 years ago, tools, weapons and eating utensils were already being manufactured out of Sunnpau copper.