Harz Cultural Winter offers a behind-the-scenes look at mining

After the Harz Cultural Winter proved an overwhelming success last year, the organizers in the Oberharz ski area have decided to bring the event back this year. At the Upper Harz Mining Museum in Clausthal-Zellerfeld, interested ski tourists have until and including February 15 to learn about the lives of miners in days gone by. Tours of the mine take place daily from 4 p.m. and are promoted in the Oberharz as a cultural après-ski activity.

The 2nd Harz Cultural Winter makes direct reference to Heinrich Heine, one of the greatest poets in German history. In one of his works from 1824, Heine devotes considerable attention to the lives of miners in Clausthal and, unusually for someone otherwise known as a mocking and ironic contemporary, writes about them with great enthusiasm. Andreas Ravens, who guides the tourist group through the Upper Harz Mining Museum with great expertise, bases his tours on Heinrich Heine’s accounts and brings the miners’ lives vividly to life.

Tours of the mine in Clausthal run throughout the year, but outside the Harz Cultural Winter they focus on the technical and productive processes within the mine. The miners’ often difficult lives, by contrast, usually receive little attention on regular tours. Thanks to Andreas Ravens, a recognized expert on Heine, and his cultural perspective on mining, that is certainly not the case in Clausthal for at least a few days each year.