Altenberg-Zinnwald Mining Landscape is located close to the German-Czech border in the high mountain area of the Eastern Erzgebirge, 32 km south of Dresden. It is the most easterly mining district in the Saxon Ore Mountains and the landscape is characterized by a gently sloping plain with occasional rolling hills and deep river valley dissections that gradually descend to the north. The landscape is highly modified by mining activities from the 15th to the late 20th centuries. Whereas the appearance of the landscape of the Geisingberg has only changed slightly after the beginning of the 20th century and is today protected by nature law, the surrounding urban areas were heavily affected by World War II, mining activities of the second half of the 20th century, and subsequent remediation activities. As a result, the landscape documents the relationship between long lasting mining activities, the development of agriculture and mining settlements as well as environmental impact of mining.

Altenberg contained the largest deposit of tin ore in Central Europe, and the landscape has been modified by intensive mining, and pioneering ore processing, from the 15th to the late 20th centuries. Mining ceased in 1991. The nominated property comprises surface and underground elements, including tin mines from all principal phases and an exceptional technical monument to ore-processing, the wooded hill of the Geisingberg (mountain) with its southern flanks of agricultural fields traversed by lines of mine shafts and heaps, and a water management system that extends the component part south, via water ditches (Aschergraben to Albertschacht at Zinnwald-Georgenfeld, and southeast via the Grenzgraben to Furstenau). North of the Geisingberg, towards Gaschraum, around 100 Steinrückenfelder (stone ridge fields) are maintained as historic agricultural features.

Elements of the Altenberg – Zinnwald Mining Landscape