The historic mine shown in the Annaberger Bergaltar of 1522 (St. Annenkirche zu Annaberg)
| Annaberg, the center of the upper Erzgebirge in Saxony had an influx of mostly Franconian settlers in 1492 when silver was found at Schreckenberg and by 1540 the population was 12,000. As Annaberg developed, a mint was established, and technological advances by Georg Aricola and others modernized the mining industry. Through mountain tithes and silver, the Wettin dynasties of Albrecht and Ernst were the wealthiest in the empire around 1500 and their riches were displayed in their fabulous residences in Meissen, Dresden, Torgau and Wittenberg. Beautiful St Annenkirche in Annaberg was commissioned in 1499 by Saxon Duke Georg, and in 1521, a magnificent altar was carved by Hans Hesse showing an impressive view of the mining landscape and miners' lives in the Middle Ages. Some of the exiled Dürrnberg miners found a new home here later as well. |