A ''Bergmagazin'' is a building that served as a

granary A granary, also known as a grain house and historically as a granarium in Latin, is a post-harvest storage building primarily for grains or seeds. Granaries are typically built above the ground to prevent spoilage and protect the stored grains o ...

for

miner A miner is a person who extracts ore, coal, chalk, clay, or other minerals from the earth through mining. There are two senses in which the term is used. In its narrowest sense, a miner is someone who works at the rock face (mining), face; cutt ...

s and the population of

mining town A mining community, also known as a mining town or a mining camp, is a community that houses miners. Mining communities are usually created around a mine or a quarry. Historical mining communities Australia * Ballarat, Victoria * Bendig ...

s in German-speaking Europe.

History (Saxony)

The construction of ''Bergmagazins'' in the

Electorate Electorate may refer to: * The people who are eligible to vote in an election, especially their number e.g. the term ''size of (the) electorate'' * The dominion of a prince-elector in the Holy Roman Empire until 1806 * An electoral district ...

and

Kingdom of Saxony The Kingdom of Saxony () was a German monarchy in Central Europe between 1806 and 1918, the successor of the Electorate of Saxony. It joined the Confederation of the Rhine after the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, later joining the German ...

grew rapidly from 1806 at the suggestion of senior mining official (''Oberberghauptmann''), Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich von Trebra. As a result of the great famines in the upper

Ore Mountains The Ore Mountains (, or ; ) lie along the Czech–German border, separating the historical regions of Bohemia in the Czech Republic and Saxony in Germany. The highest peaks are the Klínovec in the Czech Republic (German: ''Keilberg'') at ab ...

at the end of the 18th century caused by several poor harvests, Trebra recommended the construction of multi-storey, stone ''Bermagazin'' buildings where grain could be deposited after harvesting and stored for several months or even years.

Locations (a selection)

Marienberg Marienberg is a town in Germany. It was the district capital of the Mittlerer Erzgebirgskreis (Central Ore Mountains district) in the southern part of Saxony, and since August 2008 it has been part of the new district of Erzgebirgskreis. As of ...

: built 1806-1809, from 1858 it had many other uses e.g. as a military storage facility, chocolate factory, glider school, war refugee accommodation and fruit store. Following its conversion and redesign it has been used as a museum since 2006.''Marienberg Magazin''
at marienberg.de. Retrieved 12 June 2022 * Annaberg * Schneeberg *

Freiberg Freiberg () is a university and former mining town in Saxony, Germany, with around 41,000 inhabitants. The city lies in the foreland of the Ore Mountains, in the Saxon urbanization axis, which runs along the northern edge of the Elster and ...

: 1784-1805 converted from

Freudenstein Castle Freudenstein Castle () is located on the ''Schloßplatz'' ("Castle Square") on the edge of the town centre of Freiberg in the German state of Saxony. Its history is closely linked to the House of Wettin. After several conversions the castle is no ...

into the ''Bergmagazin''. Used as a granary until 1979 *

Johanngeorgenstadt Johanngeorgenstadt (, ) is a mining town in Saxony’s Ore Mountains, 17 km south of Aue, and 27 km northwest of Karlovy Vary. It lies in the district of Erzgebirgskreis, on the border with the Czech Republic, is a state-recognized hea ...

: built 1806-1812, used as a grain store until 1847. After a fire in 1899 it was converted into a residence. Demolished in 2005 *

Osterode am Harz Osterode am Harz (, ), often simply called Osterode (Eastphalian dialect, Eastphalian: ''Ostroe''), is a town in south-eastern Lower Saxony in central Germany on the south-western edge of the Harz mountains. It was the seat of government of the ...

: 1719-1722 built as a corn store. Used as the town council building since 1989

Gallery

File:Schlossfreudensteinfreiberg.jpg,

, used since 1784 as a ''Bergmagazin'' File:BergmagazinJohannstadt.jpg, Johanngeorgenstadt ''Bergmagazin'' just before its demolition in 2005 File:OsterodeKornmagazin.jpg, Osterode am Harz ''Bergmagazin'' (corn store in the

Harz The Harz (), also called the Harz Mountains, is a highland area in northern Germany. It has the highest elevations for that region, and its rugged terrain extends across parts of Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Thuringia. The name ''Harz'' der ...

)

References

{{Reflist

External links

History of the ''Bergmagazin'' in Marienberg
Mining culture and traditions History of mining in Germany Agricultural buildings in Germany