St. Andreasberger Verein für Geschichte und Altertumskunde e. V.

The St. Andreasberger Verein für Geschichte und Altertumskund e. V. is a German registered association (eingetragener Verein) dedicated to the local and mining history of Sankt Andreasberg in the Harz mountains. It traces its origins to February 1931, when the Harzverein für Geschichte und Altertumskunde established a local branch in Sankt Andreasberg under the leadership of Rektor August-Heinrich Unland. Its founding statutes set out goals that remain recognisable today: caring for local history, reviving old customs, preserving technical cultural monuments — especially those from the region's mining past — and establishing a local museum with sections for mining, cultural history, forestry and natural history. The association is best known for the Grube Roter Bär, a former mine that it opened as a museum and visitor mine in 1931 and which it continues to operate as a teaching mine (Lehrbergwerk). It also runs guided walks and excursions around Sankt Andreasberg, a town with more than 500 years of mining tradition, offering tours that range from a few hours to multi-day programmes and cover geology, mineralogy, fauna, flora and ecology alongside mining history. School programmes and specialist tours for both laypeople and experts are part of the offer. After the Second World War the association was re-established, and in 1951 the Bergwerksmuseum Grube Samson was reopened. Over the following decades the association carried out major restoration work on the museum complex, saw growing visitor and membership numbers, and weathered more difficult periods. In the 2020s it remains active, organising events such as the Montanhistorisches Kolloquium and participating in public commemorations of the region's mining heritage, including the 2023 Bergparade marking 500 years of Bergfreiheit in St. Andreasberg and 35 years of the AG Bergbau.

The association's history begins in the early 20th century, when the closure of Andreasberg silver mining in 1910 sparked growing interest in the region's past. In the 1920s, individuals made the first attempts to establish a museum at the Samson mine. On 26 February 1931, the Harzverein für Geschichte und Altertumskunde founded a local branch in Sankt Andreasberg, with Rektor August-Heinrich Unland as its first chairman. The founding statutes committed the group to caring for local history, protecting and reviving old customs, preserving technical cultural monuments — especially those from the mining past — and establishing a local museum with sections for mining, cultural history, forestry and natural history. The first museum followed quickly. On 1 April 1931 the association signed a lease with the Ilseder Hütte for one Reichsmark per year, and on 12 July 1931 the Grube Roter Bär was unofficially opened as a museum. In 1931 the association reintroduced Kurrendesingen, and in 1932 the Bergdankfest. In 1932–33 it carried out rescue work on the building fabric at the Samson. In 1934 the first chairman was transferred, and Pastor Westermann took over the chairmanship during a difficult period marked by declining membership. On 26 June 1941 the visitor mine was transferred to the NS community Kraft durch Freude, Amt für Volks- und Brauchtum, and on 31 December 1943 the lease with the Ilseder Hütte ended because of unresolved insurance questions. After the Second World War, efforts to re-establish the association began in 1949, and Pastor Westermann was re-elected. On 7 July 1951 the Bergwerksmuseum Grube Samson was reopened with a ceremony. In 1958 the first major restoration work on the museum complex was carried out in cooperation with the Oberharzer Bergwerksmuseum and many companies. The 1960s brought growing visitor numbers at the mining museum and rising membership, reaching a maximum, while the 1970s brought more difficult times. In the decades that followed, the association continued to operate the Grube Roter Bär as a teaching mine and to develop its guided tour and educational programmes. By the 2020s it was organising events such as the Montanhistorisches Kolloquium and taking part in public commemorations of the region's mining heritage. In 2023 it joined the Bergparade in St. Andreasberg marking 500 years of Bergfreiheit and 35 years of the AG Bergbau, an event that drew more than 40 groups and hundreds of participants. In 2025 Dr. Wilfried Ließmann stepped down as second chairman after 25 years, while remaining active in the mining working group.

• 2025

  Dr. Wilfried Ließmann steps down as second chairman after 25 years

• 2023

  9 September: Bergparade in St. Andreasberg marking 500 years of Bergfreiheit and 35 years of the AG Bergbau

• 1958

  First major restoration work on the museum complex

• 1951

  7 July: reopening ceremony of the Bergwerksmuseum Grube Samson

• 1949

  First efforts to re-establish the association; Pastor Westermann re-elected

• 1943

  31 December: lease with the Ilseder Hütte ends

• 1941

  26 June: visitor mine transferred to the NS community Kraft durch Freude

• 1932

  Reintroduction of the Bergdankfest

• 1931

  26 February: founding of the Harzverein für Geschichte und Altertumskunde, Ortsgruppe Sankt Andreasberg

• 1931

  1 April: lease signed with the Ilseder Hütte; 12 July: Grube Roter Bär unofficially opened as a museum

• 1910

  Closure of Andreasberg silver mining; interest in local history grows

A volunteer-run heritage association preserving and interpreting the mining history of Sankt Andreasberg through a teaching mine, museum and guided tours.

• Lehrbergwerk Grube Roter Bär

  A former mine operated as a teaching mine and visitor attraction by the association.

• Bergwerksmuseum Grube Samson

  A mining museum at the Samson mine, reopened in 1951 and restored over subsequent decades.

• Guided mining-history tours

  Guided hikes and excursions around Sankt Andreasberg for groups, covering mining history, geology, mineralogy, fauna, flora and ecology.

1. 1Homelehrbergwerk.de
2. 2Geschichte zum Anfassen...lehrbergwerk.de
3. 3Entwicklung des Geschichtsvereinslehrbergwerk.de
4. 4St. Andreasberger Verein für Geschichte und Altertumskunde e. V.wikidata.org