The Pöhlberg mining landscape is located in the middle of a rural area on the eastern slope of the Pöhlberg (mountain), in direct neighbourhood to Annaberg mining town on its western slope. The introduction of the Saigerverfahren (liquation process) to the Ore Mountains in the second half of the 15th century (1471 by Nickel Tyle in Chemnitz) enabled to process silver-copper ores leading to an increase of the importance of the Pöhlberg mines and contributed since 1537 greatly to the silver output in Saxony. The Annaberg entrepreneurial family, the Uthmanns was particularly active in mining on the eastern side of the Pöhlberg (mountain). The mines at the Pöhlberg Mountain developed from the late 15th century into an important group of silver-copper mines. The argentiferous copper ores extracted here were processed 30 km away at the Grünthal Silver-Copper Liquation Works, also owned by the Uthmann family. In 1567 the Saxon Elector bought the liquation works to get control over its important silver and copper production. The Saxon State owned the complex for more than 300 years until 1873 when it was privatized again as the Saxon copper and brass works.
St. Briccius and the Heilige Dreifaltigkeit mines
Today, only a small open cast mine, the waste heaps of numerous adits and mouths (reconstructed according to conservation practice, and original), as well as the administration and assembly building (Huthaus) of St. Briccius mine bear witness to the extensive surface mining for silver-copper ores on the western Pöhlberg mountain slope. Underground, there are diverse horizontal and vertical advances, impressive mine workings, in part preserved original mine working supports as well as relics of technical support, drainage and ventilation facilities. The wheelhouse, and parts of the technical facilities are preserved. These predominantly 15th to 18th century remains are directly connected with the processing of argentiferous copper ores in the Grünthal Silver-Copper Liquation Works in the Marienberg mining area.
