In the 19th century, the Wolfgang Maßen Fundgrube, a large mine and the southernmost one of the Schneeberg mining landscape, was one of the most important cobalt mines of the ore mining areas in Saxony. The mine was known as early as the 16th century, and by the second half of that century had become prominent through its remarkable supply of silver. The extraction of cobalt and other ores later became dominant. By the beginning of the 19th century, the mine had achieved a leading position in Schneeberg mining – due to its supply of cobalt ores. This created the prerequisite for some exceptional technical installations, which by the beginning of the 19th century led to the construction of a major ore dressing work on the mining site.
Since 1790, the task of hoisting had been undertaken using a horse-driven gin, which in 1857 was replaced by a Schwamkrug turbine. In 1876, a large steam winding machine was installed at the mine’s main shaft. Following the discontinuation of mining activity, the pithead building was dismantled. Of the mine complex, the stamp mill building and a few surface mine buildings, such as the Huthaus (administration and assembly building), the Steigerhaus (foreman’s house) and the mine forge have been preserved. In addition to the large uniform heap of the main shaft, numerous smaller waste heaps, succeeding one another along the ore lodes like a string of pearls, have been handed down, dating back to the 16th century. The preserved underground Pochradstube (stamp wheelhouse) is accessible.
