Knochen

Knochen is a monadnock rising between Raschau-Markersbach and Schwarzenberg in the Ore Mountains. The hill stands 551.4 metres above sea level and towers about 100 metres above the Schwarzbach and Große Mittweida valleys. Its slopes contain lodes of non-ferrous metal skarns and bismuth-cobalt-nickel-silver ores. The first pits opened on the Knochen in the 17th century, including Gottes Seegen, St. Paulus and Drei Brüder. In 1713 the Allerheiligen-Fundgrube mine yielded silver, bismuth and cobalt.

The hill’s mining history includes a vitriol and sulphur works built in the middle of the 18th century. From 1818 the works used five furnaces to produce arsenic sold to factories in Hamburg, France and Austria. After the Allerheiligen works closed in Raschau in 1871, it reopened at Beierfeld in 1876. State competition from Freiberg forced the original closure.

Visitors find a wooded summit with wide views over the Ore Mountains. The remains of old mine adits and spoil heaps mark the hill’s industrial past. Forest paths lead across the slopes, linking the sites of Gottes Seegen and St. Paulus. The Schwarzbach valley below shows the clear streams that once powered the works. On calm days the ridge offers quiet walks among silver birch and spruce.