Stone finds and mining in the Baumholder region

Mining has been carried out in the Baumholder region since the late Middle Ages until the 20th century. This topic will be the subject of a special exhibition at the Golden Angel Cultural Centre, which will be open to visitors from 8 May 2022.

The region was and still is rich in agates, in an area from Idar-Oberstein via the Baumholder military training area to Freisen. These minerals are shown in the first part of the exhibition with typical finds from all communities of the Verbandgemeinde Baumholder and the military training area. The stones are part of a collection of the Local History Museum Baumholder. But there will also be extraordinary minerals from private ownership to see.

The second part of the exhibition is dedicated to mining around Baumholder in times gone by. Topics include mercury mining on today’s military training area with its focus on the 16th century, copper mining near Reichenbach, the mining of heavy spar in the Clarashall pit near Reichenbach and Ruschberg until the 1970s and the Burger granite and diabase plant, which existed until the construction of the military training area and was an important employer in the region.

The special exhibition can be visited from 8 May to 19 June during the opening hours of the Museum Goldener Engel. In addition, the museum is open for the herb market on 9 May. International Museum Day on 15 May will provide the opportunity to experience the permanent exhibition and the special exhibition with free admission.