GOLD-MUSEUM

Description

At the Gold Museum in Theuern, a district of Schalkau in the Thuringian Slate Mountains, the presentation takes place in the rooms of the historic Burgmühle. The exhibition combines natural science principles with the region's mining history.

It shows how gold forms geologically and under which conditions extraction becomes economically viable. It explains that gold can only be mined once certain concentration thresholds are exceeded. Hydrothermal solutions can transport gold and precipitate it together with quartz in rock fissures. Weathering breaks down these quartz veins, and the enriched metal is released into streams, where during transport it is reduced to small nuggets, the so-called placer gold. Conglomerates of former stream beds also serve as deposits.

Another focus is on the find sites and how to recognize them. In the Thuringian Slate Mountains numerous waterways carry gold loads; the area was already intensively prospected in the Middle Ages. Rivers and streams transported the ore material further, making gold finds possible in the Elbe, Saale and Main as well.

Practical aspects of extraction are illustrated using historical technology. A model of a stamp mill demonstrates the pounding of rock with iron blocks as well as the subsequent washing and sieving. A reconstructed sluice box and a variety of gold pans provide tangible impressions of the artisanal techniques.