Talsperre Cranzahl

Our first base for this part of the trip, the town of Annaberg-Buchholz. Annaberg-Buckholz is one of many towns whose fortunes were made by mining, like many towns and villages in the Erzgebirge, and in fact, like Saxony as a whole. The earliest recorded inhabitants weren't miners, but rather (I blame studying German for this bad habit I've developed of saying but rather) farmers from Franconia, who appeared in the records in 1397.

It was the next century that saw the discovery of silver, and from that, the town grew. The town came under the patronage of Duke George of Saxony, and his wife, Princess Barbara. They founded a Franciscan monastery, the impressive Saint Anne's church, and donated a relic of Saint Anne, increasing the pilgrimage trade.

The resourceful women of the town took up braid and lace making after it was introduced by Barbara Uthmann in 1591. They used the craft to supplement the income brought in by their husbands, who were mainly miners. The industry expanded with the arrival of Protestants fleeing from the anti-protestant policies of the Duke of Alba, who was the Spanish governor of the Hapsburg controlled Low Countries. Yes, the Hapsburgs...

Though mining had expanded beyond silver to include tin and cobalt, the mines mostly closed by World War I. What's left of them are tourist attractions now, and part of a larger UNESCO recognized area. There are two visitor mines and the Fronhauer Hammer, which is an historically preserved hammer mill.

Annaberg-Buckholz was also the home of the mathematician Adam Ries (1492-1559). He was an advocate of the use of Indian/Arabic numerals, and wrote several books on calculating, including one for children explaining the use of a device similar to an abacus, and a book to help people calculate prices, so that “the poor common man may not be cheated”. He also wrote a book on algebra. His books were written and published in German, and for the most part, their intended audience were craftsmen, businessmen and their apprentices.

The streets are exceedingly narrow, hilly, and TWO WAYS. We found this out the hard way on the drive to our apartment. We were driving down what we were sure was a one way street, Mandelgasse, a street as wide as the one-way only parking on one side streets in Old City Philadelphia, when another car came barreling up the road. Since he didn't honk, or scream, just kind of drove up on the sidewalk to pass, we realized that's just how it was there.

After checking in, we walked around, went to the Christmas market for a quick lunch, then visited the Annenkirche. There aren't a lot of pictures of the church, as we were unclear whether we were allowed to take photos inside.Read more