Schauinsland

The Schauinsland reaches 1,284 metres on Freiburg's doorstep, and its name means look into the land, from the view over the Rhine plain to the Vosges. Silver, lead and zinc were mined in the mountain from the thirteenth century until 1954, leaving around a hundred kilometres of galleries on twenty-two levels; a section is open as a show mine with guided tours in helmets and lamps. The cable car from Horben, opened in 1930, is one of the longest circulating gondola lifts in Germany. A road race was run on the mountain road for decades and the route is still a known cycling climb.

History

Silver, lead and zinc were mined in the Schauinsland for over 700 years; in the 14th century the contractors of the Dieselmuot mine could afford to give stained glass to Freiburg Minster, and the miners lived in two settlements on the mountain, abandoned in the 16th century. Since 1975 a reconstructed section, the Barbarastollen, has served as Germany's archive store for safeguarded documents, the largest long-term archive in Europe, and a museum mine has been open since 1997. From 1923 to 1984 the ADAC Schauinsland hillclimb was raced on the 12 km road from Horben, and in 1936 a hotel with 26 rooms was built on the mountain (Wikipedia, Schauinsland).

What's there

• The show mine - galleries from seven centuries of silver and lead working.
• The 1930 cable car - a long circulating gondola from the valley.
• The summit tower - a lookout with views to the Alps and Vosges.
• The mine scale - around a hundred kilometres of tunnels on 22 levels.

When to go

May to October for the mine, which runs guided tours seasonally; the cable car operates year-round with weather closures. Winter brings small ski and sledge runs.

Good to know

Mine tours are seasonal, booked and cool underground at about eleven degrees. The cable car closes in high wind. The summit is developed with car parking.

Nearby

Freiburg lies below; the Feldberg is southeast.

Key facts