Hidden Leipzig: Mining Technology Park ♥ Leipzig Region

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17/08/2021

View of a large conveyor in the Mining Technology Park, industrial culture, culture — © Lukas Landsteiner

During a visit to Lake Markkleeberg or Lake Störmthal, you're sure to have seen the two gigantic industrial cranes before. The Mining Technology Park is an open-air museum. There you can learn about the history of open-cast lignite mining in a lively way. At Hidden Leipzig, we'll tell you all about the industrial monument. Come along for the ride!

Your visit to the Mining Technology Park

22 display boards show you the way through the Mining Technology Park. The boards also explain the former work processes. Exploring the park alone is too strenuous for you? No problem! There are 60 and 90-minute group tours of the site. What's special about the 90-minute park tour? Former employees of the Espenhain open-cast mine will guide you to the equipment. They will also tell you about their eventful day-to-day work. There's no better way to bring history to life! Admission costs €7 , concessions €4, children up to the age of five are free. Our tip: Get the LEIPZIG REGIO Card and save 20% on the admission price.

The Mining Technology Park is open this year up to and including November 14. From Wednesday to Sunday and on public holidays from 10:00 to 17:00. During the summer and fall vacations, however, extended opening times apply.

Leipzig's industrial culture you can touch

However, the Mining Technology Park is working to prevent Leipzig's industrial heritage from being forgotten. The park gives you a glimpse into the past. On the 5.4-hectare site between Lake Markkleeberg and Lake Störmthal, you can retrace the entire mining cycle of an open-cast mine. The facility was created through the preservation of two large pieces of equipment from the former Espenhain open-cast mine before they were scrapped.

The 1300-tonne bucket wheel excavator and the 2400-tonne belt stacker now form the heart of the park. The two heavyweights were saved from destruction thanks to the initiative of dedicated members of Bergbau-Technik-Park e. V., which was founded in 2002. Support was provided by the municipalities of Großpösna, Espenhain and Markkleeberg. The Free State of Saxony and the Leipzig Regional Council in cooperation with the LMBV and MIBRAG also provided support. Marvel at the scale of the machine technology and logistics in this gigantic open-air museum! You can also find out about the extraction and consumption of energy. The park also has an extensive collection of various working tools, clothing and open-cast mining technology.

From lignite to local recreation

On hot summer days, Leipzig residents are drawn to the Neuseenland. When the temperatures are high, you can make yourself comfortable on the sandy beaches of Cospudener, Markkleeberger or Störmthaler See. Crystal-clear water awaits you there.

But that wasn't always the case! Where you can swim, relax and be active today, hard work was still being done 25 years ago. The Leipziger Neuseenland owes its creation to decades of extraction, refinement and use of the resource lignite. Today's lakes were used as open-cast mining holes for many decades. But after reunification in the early 1990s, this came to an end. This was because energy policy changed radically in the wake of reunification. This meant an abrupt end for opencast lignite mining in Leipzig. As a result, almost the entire infrastructure of an industrial sector disappeared in a short space of time. The residual open-cast mining holes were flooded. Today, we know the resulting lakes as the Leipzig New Lakeland. The lignite era has fallen into oblivion, as there are few reminders of it today.</p