Goldkronach brings together traces of historic mining and insights into the history of the Earth. Visitors who want to explore the town can choose from a range of options: trails with mining sites, geological topics at the museum, and seasonal visitor attractions. This lets you choose the focus of your stay without combining the different places and experiences into a single tour.
Discover mining history on trails
The Humboldt Trail runs through the center of Goldkronach’s historic mining area. The well-signposted historic Alexander von Humboldt educational trail also begins in Goldkronach and passes 40 mining sites. These include collapsed shafts, tunnel entrances, and spoil heaps. Visitors interested in specific traces of mining will find named sites and different types of historic relics along this educational trail. The Humboldt Trail, in turn, offers a way to explore the historic mining area in the town center.
Goldkronach’s historic rock cellars are of cultural and historical interest and offer special geological insights into the town’s history. In addition to traces of mining, the town’s geological features are also worth exploring. These two topics can be considered as separate focuses when planning your visit: one on the evidence of mining, the other on the geological perspective on the town.
Geology in the museum garden and around town
The geological educational trail in the garden of the Goldbergbaumuseum Goldkronach begins at the “Franconian Line” and ends at the sandstones behind the information pavilion. It conveys more than 400 million years of Earth’s history. At the Goldbergbaumuseum, the significance of the Franconian Line is explained in Room 3, Geology; the geological history of development is visible on a stone altar. The garden trail and the museum exhibition each have a different focus: outside, the route between two named geological points and the long history of the Earth take center stage; inside the museum, the focus is on explaining the Franconian Line and the visible geological history of development.
There are 15 geo-points at interesting locations throughout the municipality of Goldkronach. Images and text panels provide information about each point. To help you plan, it is useful to note the difference from the educational trail in the museum garden: that trail has a named starting point and endpoint, while the geo-points cover the entire municipality. This lets you decide whether to focus on a geological educational trail or include additional geo-points as part of your stay.
Plan visits to visitor mines and gold panning
The Schmutzler Tunnel was restored in 1981 and has been open to visitors along a 35-meter stretch since 1985. Seasonal visiting hours for the Schmutzlerzeche visitor mine are Sundays and public holidays, except the Feast of the Assumption, from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The last guided tour is scheduled for 4:00 p.m.; the season runs from May to mid-October. Check the current hours before your visit.
The Mittlerer Name Gottes visitor mine also has seasonal visiting hours on Sundays and public holidays from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., except the Feast of the Assumption. The last guided tour here is scheduled for 3:00 p.m.; this season also runs from May to mid-October. The difference in the time of the last guided tour is useful when planning your day. At the information house, gold-panning instruction is offered on Sundays and public holidays, also except the Feast of the Assumption, from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.; the season runs from May to mid-October. Check these seasonal hours before your visit, too.
An interactive tour through two towns
The interactive QR tour takes you through Bad Berneck and Goldkronach. Since October 29, visitors have been able to scan QR codes on site using a code reader or their camera. No advance download is required to access stories, photos, and videos about each stop. This digital offering complements the trails and geological topics with content that can be accessed at each location.
Discover more destinations: Ahorntal, Hollfeld, Seybothenreuth, Waischenfeld, CreuĂźen, GlashĂĽtten, Gefrees, Mehlmeisel.
For the full travel overview: Bayreuth.
