Over the centuries, the town of Banska Stiavnica was visited by many outstanding engineers and scientists, many of whom contributed to its fame. The old medieval mining centre grew into a town with Renaissance palaces, 16th-century churches, elegant squares and castles. The urban centre blends i... Read more »

The history of Røros, which stands in a mountainous setting, is linked to the copper mines: they were developed in the 17th century and exploited for 333 years until 1977. Completely rebuilt after its destruction by Swedish troops in 1679, the city has some 80 wooden houses, most of them standin... Read more »

In the 16th century, this area was regarded as the world's largest industrial complex. The extraction of silver ore relied on a series of hydraulic mills. The site consists of the industrial monuments of the Cerro Rico, where water is provided by an intricate system of aqueducts and artificial la... Read more »

Founded by the Spanish in the early 16th century, Guanajuato became the world's leading silver-extraction centre in the 18th century. This past can be seen in its 'subterranean streets' and the 'Boca del Inferno', a mineshaft that plunges a breathtaking 600 m. The town's fine Baroque and neoclass... Read more »

The Neolithic flint mines at Spiennes, covering more than 100 ha, are the largest and earliest concentration of ancient mines in Europe. They are also remarkable for the diversity of technological solutions used for extraction and for the fact that they are directly linked to a settlement of the ... Read more »

The Zollverein industrial complex in Land Nordrhein-Westfalen consists of the complete infrastructure of a historical coal-mining site, with some 20th-century buildings of outstanding architectural merit. It constitutes remarkable material evidence of the evolution and decline of an essential ind... Read more »

Situated 85 km south of the capital, Santiago in an environment marked by extreme climate more than 2,000 m up the Andes, Sewell Mining Town was built by the Braden Copper company in the early 20th century to house workers at what was the world’s largest underground copper mine, El Tenient... Read more »

Humberstone and Santa Laura works contain over 200 former saltpeter works where workers from Chile, Peru and Bolivia lived in company towns and forged a distinctive communal pampinos culture. That culture is manifest in their rich language, creativity, and solidarity, and, above all, in their pio... Read more »

In the 1st century A.D. the Roman Imperial authorities began to exploit the gold deposits of this region in north-west Spain, using a technique based on hydraulic power. After two centuries of working the deposits, the Romans withdrew, leaving a devastated landscape. Since there was no subsequent... Read more »

Situated near the Rammelsberg mines, Goslar held an important place in the Hanseatic League because of the rich Rammelsberg metallic ore deposits. From the 10th to the 12th century it was one of the seats of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation. Its well-preserved medieval historic centre h... Read more »