Städtische Sammlungen Freital

Useful Information

Location:	Altburgk 61, 01705 Freital. (50.5537305, 11.7159903)
Open:	All year Di-Fr 12-16, Sa, So, Fei 10-17. Closed 25-DEZ, 31-DEZ. Besucherbergwerk: APR bis OKT Di, DO 13:30, 14:30, 1. So im Monat 11, 12, 13:30, 14:30, 15:30. [2026]
Fee:	Museum: Adults EUR 4, Children (7-16) EUR 3, Children (0-6) frei, Students EUR 3, Trainees EUR 3, Seniors EUR 3, Disabled EUR 3, Unemployed EUR 3, Families (2+) EUR 10. Besucherbergwerk: Adults EUR 4, Children (7-16) EUR 3, Children (0-6) frei, Students EUR 3, Trainees EUR 3, Seniors EUR 3, Disabled EUR 3, Unemployed EUR 3, Families (2+) EUR 10. Kombikarte: Adults EUR 6, Children (7-16) EUR 4, Children (0-6) frei, Students EUR 4, Trainees EUR 4, Seniors EUR 4, Disabled EUR 4, Unemployed EUR 4, Families (2+*) EUR 10. [2026]
Classification:	Coal Mine Replica Underground Mine
Light:	Electric Light
Dimension:
Guided tours:
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:
Address:	Städtische Sammlungen Freital auf Schloss Burgk, Leiterin: Kristin Gäbler, Altburgk 61, 01705 Freital, Tel: +49-351-6491562. museum@freital.de
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

16. Jahrhundert	Start of coal mining.
1819	Freiherrlich von Burgker Steinkohlen- und Eisenhüttenwerk (Baron von Burgker’s Coal and Ironworks) founded.
1846	castle redesigned in the Neo-Renaissance and Romantic Classicist styles.
1946	Freital Town Museum moved into the castle under the name ‘Haus der Heimat’.
1989	Uranium ore mining ceases due to the depletion of the deposit.
1990s	extensive renovation of Burgk Castle.

Geology

Description

The Städtische Sammlungen Freital (Freital Municipal Collections) are a museum situated at Burgk Castle. This castle is located in a meander of the River Saale, but what is quite unusual is the fact that it was built between the cut bands rather than on top of the central hill. The picturesque and well-preserved castle is well worth a visit, the interior is also very well preserved, from the kitchen through the chapel to the bedrooms. However, an important section is the mining exhibition, which even features a Bergbau-Schauanlage (mining exhibition tunnel) – in other words, a replica of a mine tunnel. It displays something rather curious from the GDR era, namely the extraction of uranium ore from a coal deposit.

The GDR emerged after World War II from the Soviet occupation zone. Whilst the West benefited from the Marshall Plan and the Wirtschaftswunder (economic miracle), the GDR was obliged to make reparation payments to the Soviet Union, primarily in the form of uranium for Cold War weapons. The company that mined this uranium throughout the country operated under the code name Wismut. Most of the uranium deposits were found in the polymetallic veins of the Erzgebirge, but also in the Harz Mountains. The fact that uranium was also found here in the Thuringian Slate Mountains is highly unusual. However, the amount of coal in the shists of this area are quite small, they were mined only for local use, mainly for heating and cooking, artisans like blacksmiths, and later for the nearby furnace. This was of economic importance to the rural region, though it never had any significance beyond the region.

The show mine is situated right next to the castle and is a tunnel belonging to the ‘Oberes Revier Burgk’. It demonstrates how coal was mined 200 years ago. Right next to it, in the Technikgarten, large-scale 20th-century mining machinery is on display in an open-air museum. These naturally include various mine trains. The highlight is a longwall shearer from the 1980s. Complementing this, the castle houses an exhibition on industrial history, which also covers the region’s mining history from the early modern period to the mid-20th century. In the 19th century, the castle was the administrative centre of the important Baron von Burgker Coal and Ironworks. A replica of a simple miner’s cottage can also be found in one of the castle’s many rooms.