Schlegelberg - Mining in St. Veit
The St. Veit deposits consisted of several
mining districts, which were called
Schlegelberg, auf der Au, Ragglgraben,
Schwanhalt and Meseneben. Although
mining on the Schlegelberg is documented
around 1545, the records of the Weitmoser
mining shareholder give us an indication
of mining activity in the Middle Ages or
the Bronze Age.
He writes in 1547 that the shaft had
already been exploited before they
expanded it. On the other hand, it may
well be that no one knew about the
existence of the tunnels, as otherwise
such an effort would not have been made.
Of the two tunnels marked on the mine
map from the late Middle Ages, only the
St. Sebastian pit is mentioned by name.
Today Schlegelberg is in the municipality of Mühlbach. Until the
early 20th Century, however, the municipal boundary ran along the
Mühlbach creek at the bottom of the valley and the terrain was part
of St. Veit im Pongau. In addition to practical reasons, it is rumored
that the area was ceded to Mühlbach because of the feared costs of
supplying the miners and because of social-democratic voters.
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