Since July 2019, the Dippoldiswalde High Medieval Silver Mines have been part of the Erzgebirge/Krušnohoří Mining Region UNESCO World Heritage Site. The designation as a World Heritage Site also goes hand in hand with the fulfilment of the educational mission: in order to sensitise future generations on both sides of the German-Czech border to the protection and preservation of the Erzgebirge/Krušnohoří mining region, communicating the shared, universal and extraordinary value of our World Heritage Site to children and young people is an important and forward-looking task.
In the cross-border project "ArchaeoMontan@School", the Saxon State Office of Archaeology worked with our Czech project partner from the Archaeological Institute in Most to develop an educational programme to communicate the World Heritage. For the 2021/2022 school year, a holiday programme was implemented with children in the World Heritage region of Měděnec and in Dippoldiswalde together with the MiBERZ - Museum of Medieval Mining in the Ore Mountains in Dippoldiswalde.
The aim of the programme was to train children and young people as "Junior World Heritage Ambassadors" for the unique montane cultural landscape of the Dippoldiswalde mines, which are over 800 years old, and to inspire others of their age. The "ArchaeoMontan@School at MiBERZ" holiday programme started in the Easter holidays in April 2022 and ended in the autumn holidays in October 2022.
The focus was not only on the most important and latest findings on mining archaeological research in the Ore Mountains and their historical significance, but also on the use of scientific practice by archaeologists and the technical implementation of the results, for example in virtual and augmented reality applications. Extracurricular learning centres were selected for this purpose: In addition to the MiBERZ, the open-air museum of the medieval mining town of Bleiberg and the "Marie Louise Stolln" minein Berggießhübel, archaeological sites were also visited. Scientific findings, landscape effects and the creative exploration of medieval mining were experienced, discussed and realised together.
Events were also offered on UNESCO World Heritage Day on 5 June 2022 and on Open Monument Day on 11 September 2022, where the Czech and German children and young people were able to discuss the cross-border programme together during a visit to Dippoldiswalde and present their knowledge.
At the end of the project, a total of ten children from Dippoldiswalde were honoured as "Junior World Heritage Ambassadors". They received a pass with which they can visit the MiBERZ free of charge for a year so that they can tell their parents, grandparents or friends about the hidden mines under Dippoldiswalde.
The project was supported by the European Regional Development Fund as part of the Interreg V A 2014-2020 cooperation programme to promote cross-border cooperation between the Free State of Saxony and the Czech Republic.
Together with MiBERZ, we put together a varied and exciting programme for young World Heritage Ambassadors. You can find information on current events on the MiBERZ website under Events.
Book: Montanarchäologie im Erzgebirge / Montánní archeologie v Krušných horách
A brief introduction to the archaeology of mining in the Krušnohoří Ore Mining Region UNESCO World Heritage Site
As part of the project, our Czech project partners produced the bilingual book "Montanarchäologie im Erzgebirge / Montánní archeologie v Krušných horách". The book explains important developments in historical mining in the Ore Mountains, the latest findings in mining archaeology and their methods for pupils and teachers as well as for the interested public.
- Montanarchäologie im ErzgebirgeMontanarchäologie im Erzgebirge / Montánní archeologie v Krušných horách Eine kleine Einführung in die Archäologie des Bergbaus in der UNESCO-Welterbe Montanregion Erzgeibrge Krušnohoří 61 MB
