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Description

German Slate Museum Ludwigsstadt – experience the ‘Blue Gold’ firsthand

Located in the heart of the Thuringian-Franconian slate mountains, in the very north of Bavaria, the German Slate Museum Ludwigsstadt invites visitors to discover a material that has shaped the region for generations: slate. The museum showcases the versatility of this rock – where you can not only see and learn, but also directly experience and feel slate.

The fascinating history of the slate chalkboard is the focus: visitors learn how laborious it used to be to break slate from the mountain and to produce thin slate tiles in many steps. Expert craftsmanship turned a raw slate slab into a chalkboard – precisely the kind of boards that were once commonplace in classrooms and the foundation of learning for a long time before paper took over every day school.

Another section is dedicated to the artistry of slate roofers. Here, visitors see how true masterpieces are created from roof and wall slates: dark blue facades adorned with silvery shiny tin foil (tinfoil) or with patterns of different slate shapes and colors that give slate claddings structure, edges and ornamentation. Craftsmanship that not only protects, but adorns.

The past comes alive in the “old” classroom: With the “School as it was 100 years ago” experience, you sit at original school desks, write with pencil on the slate board – and you can sense how strict and at the same time formative education could be in the past.

If you want to further understand the landscape, you will find numerous traces of the "Blue Gold" around Ludwigsstadt: Former slate quarries, production sites, and slate facades tell of a time when hard, dusty work provided many people with a livelihood. On the Geopath you can discover different types of slate – and from impressive slate dumpsites, you have a wide-ranging view over the region.

You can also explore our museum via app – ideal for those who want to plan their tour individually.

Address & Contact
German Slate Museum Ludwigsstadt
Lauensteiner Straße 44, 96337 Ludwigsstadt
Email: info@schiefermuseum.de
Website: www.schiefermuseum.de

Opening Hours
Tuesday to Sunday: 1:00–5:00pm
Group visits are also possible outside the opening hours.