Once the most modern mine in Bavaria - Now a place of mining history

The historical St. Anna shaft - and the existing St. Anna shaft today.

Maxhütte’s most innovative mine

The ‘Schacht St. Anna’ is commonly known as the St.Anna shaft. When ‘sinking’ the shaft, new construction techniques and methods had to be used due to the poor load-bearing capacity and water-absorbant soil layers.

From 1958, the headframe, in conjunction with the technical equipment, made it possible to use the manually controlled rack and pinion hoisting that was familiar from the older shafts. The miners, materials required, equipment and vehicles as well as any ‘waste rock’ (non-ore-bearing rock) were transported in and out.

In addition, however, the much more effective containerised extraction of iron ore was now possible. This new process for local mining enabled faster, fully automated operation. This was the first such system in Bavarian mining.

Ensuring the future supply of ore

With the establishment of the St. Anna mine, the Maxhütte achieved two goals: on the one hand, it was now possible to mine the last five ore deposits that were still undeveloped.

Secondly, the three underground ore deposits, that had already been tapped via the previous main Klenze shaft, could be connected to the St. Anna shaft. The ore in these deposits could be mined economically and, above all, completely, by replacing the Klenze shaft.

An average of 450 miners worked underground at the St. Anna shaft. The ore reserves of the adjacent north-western ore deposits were exhausted in 1974 and the St. Anna shaft was closed.

After the closure of the St. Anna shaft, the Maxhütte sold the site of the mine in two sections to the town of Sulzbach-Rosenberg. The larger section was sold in the 1980s, the remaining area in the 2000s.

All the mine buildings were demolished by 2008, except for the winding tower and the administration building.

The shaft itself was filled for safety reasons.

Almost the entire former shaft site was designated and sold as a development area for residential and commercial use.

Only the winding frame and the remaining plot of land on which you stand today remained in municipal ownership. The site lay unused from 2008.

Experience and learn about mining history

Alongside the Maxhütte and the slag heap, the winding tower is an important and impressive monument to local industrial history. It was recognised as a historical monument in 2017 and subsequently renovated due to corrosion damage.

The current mine site was redesigned in 2022 and 2023 as a place to learn and linger. The permanent exhibition is intended to help preserve Sulzbach-Rosenberg's rich mining history.