Silver Road

The 140-kilometre-long road, the Silver Road (German: Silberstraße) is the first and longest holiday route in the German Free State of Saxony. Against the background of the importance of mining in the history of Saxony, the road links those sights and tourist attractions of the Ore Mountains and its foreland that relate to the centuries-old mining and smelting industries of the region.

Mining in the Ore Mountains has a history reaching back more than 800 years. At the outset this was dominated especially by silver mining, its supplier industries and shareholders. Mines, smelters and mints emerged, which in turn gave rise to traditions and customs, many of which survive to the present day. Several technological monuments, especially show mines and hammer mills, that characterise the highlands and the way of life in the Ore Mountain region, led to the development of the tourist route.

The present day Silver Road recalls the historic ore transport routes - the Silver Wagon Way (Silberwagenweg) from Annaberg-Buchholz via Wolkenstein, Lengefeld and Brand-Erbisdorf to Freiberg and the old Silver Road (Silberstraße) from Scharfenberg to Freiberg. It symbolises the silver routes from the silver mines in the Ore Mountains to the ore preparation sites, and along the course of the historic Prince's Way through the Tharandt Forest to Dresden to the Grünes Gewölbe, the treasure house of the royal Wettin family.

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Wikipedia