page_title: Harz
section_title: Mines and caves
hierarchical_section_title: Harz / Tourist attractions / Mines and caves
caption_attribution_description: English: Goslar, Rammelsberg mine, UNESCO World heritage site. Deutsch: Goslar: Blick auf die Tagesanlagen des Erzbergwerkes Rammelsberg (UNESCO Weltkulturerbe). Das Bild zeigt den Rammelsberg-Schacht (rechts), die markanten über sieben Etagen errichteten Gebäude der Erzaufbereitung (mitte) und das Gebäude der Kraftzentrale (links mit Schornstein).
context_page_description: The Harz is a highland area in northern Germany. It has the highest elevations for that region, and its rugged terrain extends across parts of Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Thuringia. The name Harz derives from the Middle High German word Hardt or Hart, Latinized as Hercynia. The Brocken is the highest summit in the Harz with an elevation of 1,141.1 metres above sea level. The Wurmberg is the highest peak located entirely within the state of Lower Saxony.
context_section_description: Geomorphological processes have led to the formation of caves in the gypsum, dolomite and limestone layers of the Harz. These dripstone caves include Baumann's Cave, the Unicorn Cave, Hermann's Cave, the Iberg Dripstone Cave and, on the southern edge of the Harz, the Heimkehle.
  Because the older formations contained many mineral deposits, they were explored very early on by the mining industry. The mines have often been turned into show mines. For example, the Samson Pit was for a long time the deepest mine in the world. Other show mines are the Büchenberg, Drei Kronen & Ehrt, the Röhrigschacht show mine, the Lange Wand show mine in Ilfeld and the Rabensteiner Stollen show mine in Netzkater.
  Others have been turned into mining museums, like the Upper Harz Mining Museum in Clausthal-Zellerfeld, the Lautenthal Mining Museum with its pit railway or the Rammelsberg Mining Museum near Goslar, which is a UNESCO world heritage site. The Roter Bär Pit in St. Andreasberg also served as a training mine until the 20th century and is today, preserved true to the original, as a visitor mine.
caption: Rammelsberg Mining Museum
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