Bleiberger Erzberg

The Bleiberger Erzberg rises above the Bleiberger Hochtal north-west of Villach in Carinthia. It stretches for about ten kilometres from Bleiberg-Kreuth in the west to Kadutschen in the east, part of the Gailtaler Alpen range. Mining began here at least as early as the 14th century, when lead and zinc ore were extracted from veins of zincblende and galena. The mountain’s importance grew when the Fuggers acquired shares in the 15th century. By the 15th and 16th centuries the Bleiberger Bergwerks Union employed between five hundred and six hundred miners. The ore was divided as a tenth called the Fron, collected by the Bergrichter and managed from the Burgamt. A detailed mining ordinance issued between 1487 and 1495 regulated every aspect of work underground. Today a five-kilometre Stollenwanderweg circles the Erzberg, passing old hand-cut drifts and later 20th-century tunnels. Information panels explain mineralogy, mining history, thermal waters and healing-climate galleries. A small museum in the Ramser Pulverturm shows how blasting developed, and the Kladnig-Keusche farmhouse offers a glimpse of miners’ lives. The walk lasts two to three hours and reveals the traditions of the Bleiberger Hochtal.