Freiberg:the Silver City

We learned our lesson from our trip to Görlitz about arriving places so early.

The town was founded in the 1160s after the discovery of silver in the nearby Erzgebirge- the Ore Mountain range. Silver was mined, and contributed to the wealth of the city, until 1913 due to the fall of silver prices. In that time, however, the city developed an impressive Renaissance town center, two major churches with Silbermann organs (Petrikirche and Jakobkirche), and the oldest existing university of mining and metallurgy (1765: originally known as the Bergakademie, today the Freiberg University of Mining and Technology). Mining was resumed in the lead up to World War II, but for lead, zinc, and tin, and continued until 1969. The city is included in the Erzgebirge/Krusnohri Mining Region UNESCO World Heritage Site.

There's also a good Czech restaurant, kind of modernized and fancy, where we ate lunch.

The Erzgebirge, or Ore Mountains, is a range that is rich in various minerals (hence the name), that spans the border of Germany and the Czech Republic. Down in the southern section, not far from the border, is the village of Olbernhau, the home of my maternal grandmother. So as in Eisenach, we're entering into the region of meine Heimat.

Freiberg was one of the first places, according to their website THE first place, to bring back the original Christmas/Advent miners' traditions. Along with the cathedral, the Silbermann organs, there's a large mineral collection in the local castle, and a mine tour (unfortunately very limited availability and not on weekends. In season, a Christmas Market and traditional parade and Mettenschicht-- a celebration of the last shift in the mines, presented by the Freiberg Berg und Hüttenknappschaft (yeah, I needed a translation for this one, Historical Mining and Ironworks Association). The parade is by torchlight, so this was high on our list of must dos.

More on that to come...

A note on the skating ring. Someone (not me) vetoed the idea that we rent skates and try it. "Broken ankle blah blah blah". So no skating for me.Läs mer