Historical mines preserved by Germany

The mines of Rammelsberg and the town of Goslar are a designated World Heritage Site.

In continuous use for more than 1,000 years, the mines closed in 1988 because of a lack of deposits

No longer a working mine, Rammelsberg is now one of the largest museums in Germany, displaying numerous artefacts from different periods in mining history.

Different chambers of the silver, zinc, lead, gold and copper ore mines are also open - showing the different ways in which mining was carried out over the history of the industry.

From the twelfth-century Rathstiefste Stollen mine, to the water-wheels of the nineteenth-century Roeder Stollen mine and the twentieth-century open-cast mines, there is enough to keep the whole family entertained.

Goslar was made wealthy by its mineral deposits and until 1253 was a royal seat for German kings and emperors.

It has around 1,500 half-timbered houses dating from the fifteenth to the nineteenth-century.

There are 47 chapels and churches and the town was now called the "Rome of the North".