Welcome
The discovery of the Saalfeld Fairy Grottoes reads something like a fairy tale – featuring more than just a single stroke of luck!
It was miners who – quite literally – laid the groundwork for the Fairy Grottoes. Prospecting in the area around Saalfeld began 3,000 years ago. People searched for precious ores and dug for silver, iron and even a little gold. Here in the Arnsgereuther Valley, mining for alum slate only began at the time of the Reformation. Before then, there was a papal monopoly on the lucrative extraction of alum slate in Europe. Documents show that black shale was mined here from 1530. The rocks were left in a heap exposed to the elements to make them easy to break apart, after which the rock’s alum content was converted into a water-soluble form to obtain valuable vitriol.
However, the yields here were always low, so that mining rights passed from one owner to another and times of productivity were followed by periods in which operations stood still. From 1757 the small mine came to be known as “Jeremias Glück”, or “Jeremiah’s Luck”, a name you can still discover up above along the path through the park.
In the mid-19th century the mine and its vitriol production hut were abandoned. But locals still found use for the pigments in the water seeping from the mine – colours ranging from ochre and rust to black. Demand was particularly high for ochre, which was used not just in paints but also in mud treatments administered to alleviate rheumatism and gout.
These medicinal benefits were of particular interest to scientists around 1900, when the German “life-reform” movement was propagating natural therapies as part of a comprehensive back-to-nature approach.
But expeditions into the mine were dangerous and expensive. By now, the tunnels and ladders into “Jeremiah’s Luck” had for the most part collapsed. Despite scarce funds and perilous conditions inside the mine, a new push was made to enter it after early tests confirmed the healing properties of its water. By pure chance, a team of miners and scientists discovered the Fairy Tale Cathedral on December 23, 1913 – a true Christmas present!
And then came another stroke of luck: Adolf Mützelburg, a banker from Berlin, took a shine to the Fairy Grottoes. He invested much of his money and energy into a business that opened the mines to visitors and patients, laying the foundations of today’s Saalfeld Fairy Grottoes. There’s a plaque in his memory next to the entrance to the Feenweltchen.
For Adolf Mützelburg, visitors’ well-being was paramount, and his company philosophy still lies at the heart of activities at the park complex today. He built the Café Grottenschenke next to the entrance to the grottoes, which now fully restored, continues to serve our guests to this day. He also set up showrooms for Saalfeld companies – on the site of today’s Handwerkerhof, the Crafts Centre offering regional products and souvenirs. The expansive Quellenhaus building was constructed on the site of the vitriol production hut in the same half-timbered style of the structure it replaced. It is testimony to the medical importance once attached to the Saalfeld Fairy Grottoes. In the 1920s and ‘30s the building housed the Water Resource Research Institute which tested and bottled mineral water from its now depleted source. Today it houses our Grottoneum museum, administrative offices and a refurbished restaurant. The adjacent round pavilion, the Brunnentempel, was only built in 1937, six years after Mützelburg’s death. It was designed to enclose the spring of the medicinal waters, and served as a venue for concerts and summer night balls.
The enchanted Feenweltchen adventure park stretches back behind the pavilion. And the Brunnentempel is where you will be exiting the grottoes after your tour. Don’t forget to hand in the protective cape you will be receiving momentarily. The kaleidoscopic colours of the Saalfeld Fairy Grottoes are created by an array of soluble minerals in the mine water that have been deposited on the cave walls and dripstones. The capes keep this coloured water away from your clothing. Please also avoid any contact of the water with your eyes.
And since you are now all donning the gear of our modern-day miners, we’d like to introduce you to another ritual that’s almost as old as the Saalfeld Fairy Grottoes themselves. Ever since the year after the grottoes opened to the public, each group has had their picture taken by a photographer at the entrance. You can purchase the photo in the Brunnentempel on your way out.
Entrance
Welcome to the Saalfeld Fairy Grottoes! We invite you to step into a mysterious and fascinating world deep inside the mountain. During our tour you’ll hear many interesting details about the history of the former mine known as “Jeremiah’s Luck”, about the mine itself, the miners lives, about the minerals, stalactites and stalagmites, and the secrets of the mountain.
Please note that the passages below ground are at times dark, damp, slippery and narrow. Be sure to hold on to the railings as you descend the steps. If you are taller than 1 meter 70, you’ll need to be especially careful not to bump your head on the ceilings of some of the tunnels.
We’ll now enter the Saalfeld Fairy Grottoes in the same manner that miners did centuries ago: by ringing the mountain bell and by calling out: “Glück Auf!” – a traditional miners’ greeting that means something like “good luck!”
Since the mine’s beginnings it’s a phrase that’s been uttered by anyone descending into the mine, either as a worker or as a visitor. It’s an affirmation that anyone going in will come back up unharmed. Back in the days of mining, it also expressed the hope that each miner would return from their day’s work with rich pickings from the rocks below.
As you descend to the first gallery of the Fairy Grottoes you will hear the Foreman’s Song – a folk tune that is traditionally played during mountain processions. Its origins date back to the time when mining began here in the Fairy Grottoes.
