Minerals
| In a glass case next to a collection of historical mining literature near the stairs to the upper floor there is a valuable Saxon miners´ hatchet from the year 1720. Pendants depicting two figures of miners are valuable cabinet pieces. They were executed by Simon Troger (approx. 1694-1768). The furniture of the so-called Mine Owner`s Room recalls the period of great prosperity in the Leogang - former “Hofmark” Pillersee region in the 18th century. The opposite room, to the left of the staircase, contains documentation about mining in the Leogang – former “Hofmark” Pillersee region. A large diagram shows the complicated location of seams in this mining region. Minerals from Leogang had been included in famous mineral collections from the beginning of the 18th century. The most notable of these was the collection of Freiherr von Moll (1760-1838), which was transferred from Salzburg to Paris in the course of the Napoleonic Wars. Bergrat Matthäus Mielichhofer also put together an important mineral collection at the end of the 18th century. It was purchased by the Archiespiscopal Foundation St. Peter in Salzburg in 1839. In addition to Paris und Salzburg, minerals from Leogang were also kept in the collections of the Joanneum Museum in Graz and in the Natural History Museum in Vienna. Some of the finest crystal samples have found their way back to Leogang as loans. It is especially noteworthy that the Mining Museum managed to obtain loans from the Paris collections. The polymetallic deposits in the area contain more than 60 different types of minerals, and it seems that the ore deposits around Leogang still have not revealed all their secrets. |
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