page_title: Kongsberg Silver Mines
section_title: Tourist attraction
hierarchical_section_title: Kongsberg Silver Mines / Tourist attraction
caption_attribution_description: «fahrkunst», Kongens Gruve, Kongsberg
context_page_description: The silver mines of Kongsberg, in Viken county in Norway, constitute the largest mining field in Norway, with over 80 different mines. It was the largest pre-industrial working place in Norway, with over 4,000 workers at its peak in the 1770s and supplied over 10% of the gross national product of the Danish–Norwegian union during its 335-year-long history: over 450,000 man-years were expended in the production.
  The silver mines in Kongsberg were in operation from 1623 until 1958. Total production exceeded 1,3 million kg silver.
  The town of Kongsberg houses the Norwegian Mining Museum, which houses collection of silver, tools, and machinery utilised by the miners, engineers, and doctors.
context_section_description: The silver mines are situated in Saggrenda, approximately 8 kilometres west of Kongsberg. 
  The King's Mine is the biggest mine in the Kongsberg area. Visitors board the mining train which takes them through the 2,300 metres of the Christian VII Adit. The bottom of the mine is 1,070 metres below the surface, which corresponds to 560 metres below sea level. Since its closure in 1958, the silver mine has been preserved. Some 40,000 visit the museum annually. The tour includes the first man engine in Kongsberg in action. The room now known as the Banquet Hall of the King's Mine was originally intended as an emergency storage space for the National Archives of Norway, constructed in 1943 and held 2,000 shelf-metres of documents and books.
caption: Demonstration of the man engine (elevator) at the King's Mine
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