Prehistoric Copper Mining
5000 years of Mitterberg!
The Mitterberg, with its peak Hochkeil
(1782 m), is dotted with traces of human
mining activity dating back to 5,000
years before our time and is proven to be
the most significant prehistoric copper
mining site in Central Europe. Mitterberg
copper was traded throughout Europe.
The numerous terrain incisions, known
as pits or 'pingen,‘ are silent witnesses
to these activities. The copper extracted
here, smelted with tin to create bronze,
can be found, for example, in the famous
"Nebra Sky Disk." This bronze disc with
gold inlays, estimated to be 3,800 years
old, is the oldest concrete astronomical
representation of the world.
Significant archaeologists, including Prof.
Much, Ing. Ernst Preuschen, surveyor Karl
Zschocke, Dr. Clemens Eibner and his wife
Dr. Alexandrine Eibner, Dr. Robert Krauß,
and Dr. Thomas Stöllner with his team
from the Mining Museum in Bochum, have
unearthed many secrets of the Mitterberg
during more than 100 years of research. A
replica of the "Nebra Sky Disk" and more
information can be found at the 'Mining
and Local History Museum‘ in Mühlbach
am Hochkönig and the Visitor Center in
Bischofshofen.
www.museum-hochkönig.com
English 
German 
