The nuclear cultural heritage in the Wismut region of Germany

The first article in the blog series explains how nuclear cultural heritage is defined. It also explains how nuclear cultural heritage is determined in Germany and where it has already developed. For our study, we examined three examples in more detail. Together, these examples cover a range of different categories of nuclear cultural heritage sites.

In our first example, we look at the history of uranium mining in the Wismut region of Saxony and Thuringia. We identified 19 places in this area that are associated with nuclear cultural heritage. These include visitor centres, museums, and archives.

Wismut between Saxony and Thuringia

The Wismut S(D)AG company mined uranium ore over an extensive area of around 10,000 square metres along the Ore Mountains. The area stretched approx. 140 kilometres (around 87 miles) from west to east and approx. 70 kilometres (around 44 miles) from north to south. Most of this mining area was located in Saxony, while a smaller part was in Thuringia. Other, sometimes remote places, such as the former Wismut SDAG holiday park on the German island of Rügen, are also part of the Wismut heritage. Aue-Bad Schlema in Saxony is one place where various objects and artefacts from the nuclear cultural heritage of uranium mining are collected. The Wismut S(D)AG company had one of its main premises in this town. 

Mining has been carried out in the area for centuries. Until the 20th century, the main mineral extracted was silver. Uranium ore was mined from 1946 until mining ceased in 1990. After the reunification of Germany, Wismut GmbH was founded to take care of remediation and renaturation work in the region. 

Although the company, as a Soviet joint stock company (Sowjetische Aktiengesellschaft, SAG), resorted to coercive measures due to labour shortages between 1945 and 1954 and confiscated scarce living space for Wismut workers, Wismut SDAG enjoyed an excellent reputation as an employer. Workers and employees received good salaries and a variety of benefits and perks, including holidays at a Rügen resort, access to their own hospitals and sports and swimming facilities. Mining made the region economically strong and gave it high purchasing power. The local population identified with mining, and this continues to shape the region to this day. However, mining also led to entire villages being cleared and their inhabitants being forced to relocate. Since mining ceased in the 1990s and the areas were renaturalised, the waste rock dumps and former mining sites have gradually disappeared. Today, the renaturalised landscapes only hint at the former mining industry.

Shaft 371 as a UNESCO World Heritage Site 

Although Wismut S(D)AG was so important to the places for decades, the company premises are now barely recognisable. “After reunification, there was a period of upheaval during which Wismut was demonised in some cases. This was because there was so much damage, really visible damage, done to nature, the environment and the towns, which cannot be denied,” says one contemporary witness (Wismut_ID4). Some former landmarks of material objects, such as shafts, are still preserved. The deepest mining shaft of Wismut S(D)AG, Shaft 371, remains intact and is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Erzgebirge/Krušnohoří (Ore Mountains) Mining Region. The preserved shaft will serve as a presentation site for Wismut heritage in the future. One contemporary witness emphasises the importance of museums and exhibitions, as Bad Schlema was declared the “Valley of Death,” and it is therefore important that “people can obtain factual information” (Wismut_ID3). 

The Uranium Mining Museum in Aue-Bad Schlema has been set up in the rooms of the ‘Aktivist’ cultural centre in which miners used to visit cultural events. Not far from the museum is the memorial grove, which commemorates miners who died in mining accidents or as a result of occupational diseases.

Another special place is the Schmirchauer Höhe at the former site of the Lichtenberg open-cast mine in Thuringia. An artificial hill was created there, which is now used as a hiking area. On the plateau of the hill, there is a walk-on map that commemorates the places that disappeared as a result of mining and illustrates the extent of uranium mining in eastern Thuringia.

Annual mountain parades organised by active associations

Both Saxony and Thuringia have active associations that are closely linked to mining. Association members look after, for example, Wismut*Objekt 90, a museum that visualises the activities of Wismut S(D)AG, and the exhibition mine in Ronneburg, Thuringia. In the foyer of the mining museum attached to the exhibition mine, the miners’ band (Ronneburg Schacht 407) rehearses, thus preserving the song repertoire as an intangible practice. Every year, the associations organise winter and summer mining parades and processions, which take place on various occasions. During the events, the clothing of Wismut S(D)AG is also worn. It is striking for its simplicity. In this way, they commemorate and remember the former (uranium ore) mining industry. It is not about looking good, says a contemporary witness, but about showing that “in addition to the old mining industry, there was also Wismut mining” (Wismut_ID4). Both the organisation of these cultural events by the associations and the attendance of these events by citizens, tourists and former Wismut miners can be regarded as intangible practices.

In addition to the cultural events organised by the mining associations, mining traditions are also reflected in other associations. To this day, the regional football club FC Erzgebirge Aue refers to Wismut in its fan chant: “Two crossed hammers and a big ‘W’ / that's Wismut Aue, our BSG [our company sports club] / We come from the depths, we come from the shaft, / Wismut Aue, the new football power.”

Many different actors from civil society such as the mining associations, but also scientific, media and public actors, as well as actors from the arts, are involved in the nuclear cultural heritage of the Wismut region. Wismut GmbH is responsible for many material objects, but also for some intangible practices such as educational trails. The remediation and renaturation measures carried out include the decommissioning of mines, the flooding of pits, water purification, and the dismantling of contaminated facilities. Environmental monitoring is also an important part of its work. Water purification and environmental monitoring will remain an “eternal task,” while the other tasks will be completed in the near future. A non-profit foundation, Wismut Stiftung gGmbH, was founded in 2021 and is dedicated to preserving the Wismut heritage. It is financially supported by the federal states of Thuringia and Saxony.

The links between material objects and intangible practices are important for nuclear cultural heritage. These are often present here, for example when songs are rehearsed as an intangible practice in the mining museum, a place where material objects and artefacts are collected and exhibited. The various associations also engage in close exchange with one another. 

Nuclear cultural heritage as an emotional place

Mining, particularly uranium mining for nuclear purposes, plays an important role in the Wismut region. Dealing with the consequences of mining, even during the extraction process, is difficult. A contemporary witness explains: “In the Ruhr region, for example, the former mining areas are treated very differently. It’s cultural heritage there. Here in this region, however, anything that might remind people of Wismut is either not discussed at all or is ‘razed to the ground’. Of course, there’s also the fact that there’s a difference between mining coal and mining uranium. In other regions, the past is much more visible” (Wismut_ID2). As scientific researchers, we confirm this impression. Looking at the idyllic rural region, one can only guess that uranium mining took place in these places: grass-covered hills that once served as waste rock dumps, shafts glimmering between trees, a memorial stone here, scattered information boards there.

Other places associated with Wismut S(D)AG, like the hospital in Gera, are also threatened with redevelopment. As a result, some people in the region feel that their cultural heritage and memories are being treated “insensitively” (Wismut_ID2). A part of recent history that is so important to the region should not simply disappear. The narrative about mining has changed over the past decades from very positive before reunification to negative after reunification. Various narratives from the last 80 years converge here, shaped by various factors. Lastly, the secrecy that prevailed during Wismut S(D)AG's activities, particularly with regard to mining materials and associated risks, has influenced this narrative. Many dedicated individuals are already working to preserve positive and negative memories alike. Close networks exist within the various groups, and they communicate with each other here and there. However, there is no institutionalised, overarching form of networking. Such a network could coordinate nuclear cultural heritage in the region and beyond, for example, within the framework of an umbrella organisation. This would allow knowledge to be pooled and preserved for the future. This is a goal that some actors are striving for. 

The next blog post will focus on the nuclear research reactor in Munich.

Dr Melanie Mbah is Research Coordinator for Transdisciplinary Sustainability Research at Oeko-Institut and is involved in the DAEF, the German working group for repository research,) and the GTPF, the German Society for Transdisciplinary and Participatory Research. Alexandra Lampke is a research associate in the Nuclear Engineering & Facility Safety department at the Oeko-Institut in Freiburg and conducts research on topics including nuclear cultural heritage.

Further information

Blog post ‘What is nuclear cultural heritage?’

Journal article Mbah, M.; Noka, V.; Lampke, A.; Kelly, R.; Kuppler, S. (2025): 'What is Nuclear Cultural Heritage? Developing an analytical framework.' Energy Research & Social Science 124.

Study ‘Status Quo of Nuclear Cultural Heritage in Germany and its Significance for Nuclear Waste Management’ (in German)

Study ‘Relational analyses of tangible and intangible nuclear cultural heritage in Germany’ (in German)

Study: ‘Mapping of places of potential nuclear heritage in Germany’ (in German)

Annotated bibliography of literature on nuclear cultural heritage in Germany