Erzgebirge: silver – church organs – wood carving

If you want to know where Saxony’s wealth came from, follow me along the Sächsische Silberstraße
(Saxon Silver Route) to the origins of ore mining: the “silver town” of Freiberg. At the Fortuna fountain
you can find out how the goddess of good luck has been well disposed towards the town at the foothills
of the Erzgebirge (Ore Mountains) during its 800-year history. The abundance of silver once made it
possible for the town to afford notable works of architecture and art, such as the Gothic cathedral
of St. Marien at Untermarkt (Lower Market) with its Goldene Pforte (Golden Gate), its tulip-shaped
high-day pulpit and, last but not least, Saxony’s biggest Silbermann organ.

Nowadays, Freiberg is known abroad for its Bergakademie, the first academy world-wide to offer
mining studies. Visit the renovated Renaissance castle to study the “Terra Mineralia”
collection - a breathtaking, sparkling show of minerals from all over the world.

Our day excursion by coach continues to Seiffen, a toy-makers’ village romantically nestled
into the landscape of the Ore Mountains, where the original vernacular art of wood carving
came into existence as an ‘art of survival’ for miners when the rich sources of silver dried up.
We visit the demonstration workshop of one of the many local family enterprises and marvel
at the artisans’ carving and ring turning skills, techniques needed for the production of the widely
known smoking men, angels and pyramids. You may also want to have a look at the symbol of Seiffen,
the eye-catching octagonal church, a miniature version of which you can take home, carved out of wood
and surrounded by singers holding stars.

Tip: More Silbermann organs can be seen and heard in lovingly restored churches such as
Forchheim church, a building by George Bähr.