The 140-kilometre-long Silver Road (, ) is the first and longest

holiday route A scenic route, tourist road, tourist drive, scenic byway, or holiday road is a specially designated road or waterway that travels through an area of natural or cultural beauty. It often passes by Scenic viewpoint, scenic viewpoints. The designat ...

in the German

Free State of Saxony Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...

. Against the background of the importance of

mining Mining is the Resource extraction, extraction of valuable geological materials and minerals from the surface of the Earth. Mining is required to obtain most materials that cannot be grown through agriculture, agricultural processes, or feasib ...

in the history of Saxony, the road links those sights and tourist attractions of the

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 ...

and its foreland that relate to the centuries-old mining and smelting industries of the region.

Background

Mining Mining is the Resource extraction, extraction of valuable geological materials and minerals from the surface of the Earth. Mining is required to obtain most materials that cannot be grown through agriculture, agricultural processes, or feasib ...

in the

has a history reaching back more than 800 years. At the outset this was dominated especially by

silver Silver is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag () and atomic number 47. A soft, whitish-gray, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. ...

mining, its supplier industries and shareholders. Mines,

smelter Smelting is a process of applying heat and a chemical reducing agent to an ore to extract a desired base metal product. It is a form of extractive metallurgy that is used to obtain many metals such as iron, copper, silver, tin, lead and zin ...

s and

mint Mint or The Mint may refer to: Plants * Lamiaceae, the mint family ** ''Mentha'', the genus of plants commonly known as "mint" Coins and collectibles * Mint (facility), a facility for manufacturing coins * Mint condition, a state of like-new ...

s emerged, which in turn gave rise to

tradition A tradition is a system of beliefs or behaviors (folk custom) passed down within a group of people or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common e ...

s and

customs Customs is an authority or Government agency, agency in a country responsible for collecting tariffs and for controlling International trade, the flow of goods, including animals, transports, personal effects, and hazardous items, into and out ...

, many of which survive to the present day. Several technological monuments, especially show mines and hammer mills, that characterise the highlands and the way of life in the Ore Mountain region, led to the development of the tourist route. The present day Silver Road recalls the historic ore transport routes—the Silver Wagon Way (''Silberwagenweg'') from

Annaberg-Buchholz Annaberg-Buchholz () is a town in Saxony, in eastern Germany. Lying in the Ore Mountains, it is the capital of the district of Erzgebirgskreis. Geography The town is located in the Ore Mountains, at the side of the ''Pöhlberg'' ( above sea le ...

via

Wolkenstein Wolkenstein is a town in the district Erzgebirgskreis, in Saxony, Germany. It is situated in the Ore Mountains, on the river Zschopau, 22 km southeast of Chemnitz. The town is situated on a rocky spur near the confluence of the Zschopau ...

, Lengefeld and Brand-Erbisdorf to

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 ...

and the old Silver Road (''Silberstraße'') from Scharfenberg to Freiberg. It symbolises the silver routes from the silver mines in the Ore Mountains to the ore preparation sites, and along the course of the historic Prince's Way through the Tharandt Forest to

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

to the '' Grünes Gewölbe'', the treasure house of the royal Wettin family.

Route

Beginning in

Zwickau Zwickau (; ) is the fourth-largest city of Saxony, Germany, after Leipzig, Dresden and Chemnitz, with around 88,000 inhabitants,. The West Saxon city is situated in the valley of the Zwickau Mulde (German: ''Zwickauer Mulde''; progression: ), ...

the Silver Road runs through the

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 ...

of Schneeberg, the towns of Aue, Schwarzenberg, the mining towns of Annaberg-Buchholz,

Ehrenfriedersdorf Ehrenfriedersdorf () is a town in the district of Erzgebirgskreis, in Saxony, Germany. It is situated 8 km northwest of Annaberg-Buchholz, and 21 km south of Chemnitz. Theatre At the start of the 1990s the folk theatre, the ''Mundartth ...

, Wolkenstein,

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 ...

, Lengefeld, Sayda and Brand-Erbisdorf to Freiberg and from thence continues to the Saxon state capital of Dresden. The route coincides roughly with that of the B 93, B 169, B 101, B 171 and B 173 federal roads as well as the S 194 state road. Southeast of Zwickau, it runs through the eponymous village of Silberstraße. Between Annaberg and Lengefeld and between the Brand-Erbisdorf and Freiberg, it also follows in places the course of the so-called Silver Wagon Way (''Silberwagenweg''), an old

post Post, POST, or posting may refer to: Postal services * Mail, the postal system, especially in Commonwealth of Nations countries **An Post, the Irish national postal service **Canada Post, Canadian postal service **Deutsche Post, German postal s ...

and

trade route A trade route is a logistical network identified as a series of pathways and stoppages used for the commercial transport of cargo. The term can also be used to refer to trade over land or water. Allowing goods to reach distant markets, a singl ...

. Likewise, between Freiberg and Naundorf, it follow the route of the historic Silver Road (''Silberstraße'') that ran from Scharfenberg on the

River Elbe The Elbe ( ; ; or ''Elv''; Upper Sorbian, Upper and , ) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Republic), then Ge ...

to Freiberg, and in the direction of Dresden it also follows the old Prince's Way (''Fürstenweg'') through the Tharandt Forest. From Zwickau to Dresden, the Silver Road is accompanied by the Silver Road Cycle Path.

Sights

The Silver Road opens up to the public the numerous physical relics of Saxony's mining past, including for example the Reiche Zeche and Alte Elisabeth Educational and Research Mine, the Dorfchemnitz Iron Hammer Mill and Frohnauer Hammer. Many Late Gothic

hall church A hall church is a Church (building), church with a nave and aisles of approximately equal height. In England, Flanders and the Netherlands, it is covered by parallel roofs, typically, one for each vessel, whereas in Germany there is often one s ...

es (e.g. St Wolfgang's, St Anne's, St Mary's,

Freiberg Cathedral The Freiberg Cathedral or Cathedral of St Mary () is a church of the Evangelical-Lutheran Church of Saxony in Freiberg, Saxony, Freiberg in Saxony. The term Duomo, Dom, a German synecdoche used for collegiate churches and cathedrals alike, is ofte ...

Saxon Renaissance The Saxon Renaissance (in German: ''Sächsische Renaissance'') is a regional type of architecture from the Renaissance particularly in the area of the Electorate of Saxony on the middle Elbe. Influences that formed the style came primarily from ...

buildings and a great number of local churches with

works of art A work of art, artwork, art piece, piece of art or art object is an artistic creation of aesthetic value. Except for "work of art", which may be used of any work regarded as art in its widest sense, including works from literature ...

in terms of

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...

painting Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

and

church organ Carol Williams performing at the West_Point_Cadet_Chapel.html" ;"title="United States Military Academy West Point Cadet Chapel">United States Military Academy West Point Cadet Chapel. In music, the organ is a keyboard instrument of one or mo ...

building (

Gottfried Silbermann Gottfried Silbermann (January 14, 1683 – August 4, 1753) was a German builder of keyboard instruments. He built harpsichords, clavichords, organ (music), organs, and fortepianos; his modern reputation rests mainly on the latter two. Life Very ...

) demonstrate the wealth of the former mining region. In the old royal capital of Saxony, Dresden, the proceeds of the silver mining contributed to a significant proportion of the investment in the Dresden State Art Collections and in architectural monuments. The Silver Road holiday route is a very good start to get to know the Ore Mountains. The road is signed with a silver "S" and, in places, is identical to the German Avenue Road. Many of the events along the Silver Road offer an insight into miners' parades,

Christmas traditions Christmas traditions include a variety of customs, religious practices, rituals, and folklore associated with the celebration of Christmas. These traditions are diverse in their origins and nature, with some having an exclusively Christianity, Ch ...

and

folklore Folklore is the body of expressive culture shared by a particular group of people, culture or subculture. This includes oral traditions such as Narrative, tales, myths, legends, proverbs, Poetry, poems, jokes, and other oral traditions. This also ...

. In the fields of

craft A craft or trade is a pastime or an occupation that requires particular skills and knowledge of skilled work. In a historical sense, particularly the Middle Ages and earlier, the term is usually applied to people occupied in small scale pr ...

s and

handicraft A handicraft is a traditional main sector of craft making and applies to a wide range of creative and design activities that are related to making things with one's hands and skill, including work with textiles, moldable and rigid material ...

s, the region is particularly well known for its

wood carving Wood carving (or woodcarving) is a form of woodworking by means of a cutting tool (knife) in one hand or a chisel by two hands or with one hand on a chisel and one hand on a mallet, resulting in a wooden figure or figurine, or in the sculpture, ...

bobbin lace Bobbin lace is a lace textile made by braiding and twisting lengths of yarn, thread, which are wound on #Bobbins, bobbins to manage them. As the work progresses, the weaving is held in place with pins set in a lace pillow, the placement of the pi ...

and

pewter Pewter () is a malleable metal alloy consisting of tin (85–99%), antimony (approximately 5–10%), copper (2%), bismuth, and sometimes silver. In the past, it was an alloy of tin and lead, but most modern pewter, in order to prevent lead poi ...

as well as the manufacture of the world-renowned Christmas pyramids,

nativity scene In the Christian tradition, a nativity scene (also known as a manger scene, crib, crèche ( or ), or in Italian ''presepio'' or ''presepe'', or Bethlehem) is the special exhibition, particularly during the Christmastide, Christmas season, of ar ...

s, nutcrackers, smoking figures and other Ore Mountain folk art.

Literature

* Harry Beyrich: ''Eine Touristenstraße durch das Silberne Erzgebirge.'' In: ''Sächsische Heimatblätter'', Heft 5/1991, pp. 316. * Harry Beyrich: ''Die Erzgebirgische Silberstraße.'' In: ''Mitteilungen des Landesvereins Sächsischer Heimatschutz'', Heft 1/1993, pp. 8–17. * Tourismusverband Erzgebirge: ''Erlebnis Bergbau entlang der Silberstraße.'' Annaberg-Buchholz, 2007. * Horst Ziethen: ''Entdeckungsreise durch das Erzgebirge. Eine idyllische Mittelgebirgsreise ins Weihnachtsland und entlang der Silberstraße.'' Ziethen-Panorama-Verlag, Bad Münstereifel, 2005, .

External links

Website of the Silver Road
{{Authority control German tourist routes Culture of Saxony Roads in Saxony Transport in the Ore Mountains Mining in the Ore Mountains Mittelsachsen Freiberg

Background

Route

Sights

See also

Literature

External links