Kristinebergs gruva

Sankta Anna Underjordskyrka


Useful Information

Location: Thornégården Restaurant & Hostel, Nervägen 6, 92040 Kristineberg.
(65.061735, 18.574837)
Open: End-JUN to Mid-AUG daily 13.
[2019]
Fee: Adults SEK 220, Children (6-15) SEK 100, Children (0-5) free.
[2019]
Classification: MineCopper Mine MineTin Mine MineGold Mine MineSilver Mine MineSulfur Mine
Light: LightIncandescent Electric Light System
Dimension: VR=1,100 m.
Guided tours:
Photography: allowed
Accessibility: no
Bibliography:
Address: Kristinebergs gruva, Thornégården Restaurant & Hostel, Nervägen 6, 92040 Kristineberg, Tel: +46-70-348-79-09. E-mail:
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then.
Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

1935 mine opened.
29-NOV-1946 image of Christ discovered by miner Johan Olofsson at the 107 m level.
1968 second image of Christ discovered.
1990 Saint Anna Underground Church inaugurated.
2002 Kristineberg Fritid Ekononomisk Förening founded.

Geology

The ores at Kristineberg are complex polymetallic ores of copper, tin, gold, and silver in different sulfuric chemical compounds.

Description

Kristinebergs gruva (mine at Kristineberg) is the deepest mine in Sweden with mining at 1,100 meters below ground. But that's the working mine, the main tourist sight at the mine is not that deep.

90 m below the surface lies the ecumenical Sankta Anna Underjordskyrka (Saint Ann Underground Church). It was created for the image of Christ which was discovered in the mine in 1946. The miners were blasting a wall and then left the mine because of the dust and the poisonous gases from the explosion. When they returned the next day to remove the fallen rocks, they saw a figure on the mine wall created by the explosion. It was a figure of white, silver-speckled serecite quartzite rock against a background of darker chorite quartzite. The discovery was interpreted as a picture of Christ because of an old prophecy, which states that Jesus would show himself in just this mountain.

And people interpreted the name Kristineberg as Christ in the mountain. However, from the historic view this is wrong. The village Kristineberg was named after Kristina Hultin, the wife of the settler Karl Hultin.

The original Christ figure was destroyed when the mine was refilled. But soon a second image appeared, this time in a marble slab. This second discovery led to the creation of an underground church in an unused part of the mine nearby, soon a popular place for weddings, baptisms and memorial services. Today it is an official church and also a tourist attraction.

Beneath the mine church, there is also a regular show mine. Passages adjacent to the church contain a mine exhibition. It explains the history of Kristineberg, the mining history, the technology used and the geology.

The tour starts at Thornégården Restaurant & Hostel which is located in the town. Frome here visitors are transported into the mine by minibus, as far as we understand there are ramps and its possible to drive down to the 90 m level with a car.. The tour includes the show mine or mining museum, the church, the image of Christ and a coffee and home-baked coffee bread at the Underjordskyrkans café. Ore and minerals from the mine are on sale. The underground church, the mine tours, a Fritidscentrat with a swimming pool, sports hall, gym and leisure center, and the Thornégården Hotel and Restaurant are operated by the Kristineberg Fritid Ekononomisk Förening. The association was founded in 2002.