Active UNESCO World Heritage silver mine in Freiberg, operated as the Lehr- und Forschungsbergwerk Himmelfahrt Fundgrube by TU Bergakademie Freiberg since 1919, with a 1953 steel headframe and listed 1898 machine house open to visitors.
The Schacht Reiche Zeche in Freiberg is the main shaft of the Himmelfahrt Fundgrube, a silver, lead, and zinc ore mine with a documented history from 1384, when the 'Vordere Reiche Zeche' and 'Hintere Reiche Zeche' were first named. The Grubenfelder of what became the Himmelfahrt Fundgrube originated in the consolidation of numerous mediaeval Fundgruben and expanded greatly in the nineteenth century under the royal Saxon Bergverwaltung. The present-day Schacht Reiche Zeche is a Richtschacht begun in 1841, which grew between 1937 and 1969 into the principal Förderschacht of the extended mine field.
Its surface buildings — the Maschinenhaus with chimney (1898), the Treibehaus with the steel Förderturm (1953), and the Steigerhaus (1900) — are listed under Denkmalschutz. After a first closure of the Freiberger Silbergruben in 1913, the TU Bergakademie Freiberg took over the Über- and Untertageanlagen in 1919 and has operated them since as a Lehr- und Forschungsbergwerk. The mine is open to visitors as a Besucherbergwerk, with guided tours to 150 metres depth across a 14-kilometre network.
Since 2019 it is part of the UNESCO Welterbe Montanregion Erzgebirge/Krušnohoří.
Silver mining in the Freiberg Revier reaches back to 1168 according to a founding legend, when cart drivers encountered silver ore while crossing a stream. The earliest documented extraction is attested in Freiberg in the twelfth century, and the city subsequently developed as the principal silver mining centre of the Erzgebirge. Among the many Fundgruben operated in the revier, the Schächte 'Vordere Reiche Zeche' and 'Hintere Reiche Zeche' are first named in a contract of 1384, making them among the oldest documented mine shafts in Freiberg. The later 'Reiche Zeche' produced 0.7 tonnes of silver between 1564 and 1610.
The Himmelfahrt Fundgrube was formed through the progressive consolidation of numerous formerly independent Fundgruben. The Grubenfeld grew substantially in the nineteenth century through the acquisition of neighbouring fields. The Hauptschacht of the expanded operation was the Abrahamschacht; a second Hauptschacht was the Davidschacht, begun in 1835. In 1808 the Schacht Alte Elisabeth was begun at its present site. The new Schacht Reiche Zeche was begun in 1841 as a Richtschacht, following the silver-bearing ore vein (Erzgang); it was deepened and fitted over subsequent decades. A large Radstube (pump chamber driven by a water wheel) was constructed in 1846/47 underground, and in 1882 a Wassersäulenmaschine was installed. The surface buildings associated with the Reiche Zeche include the Maschinenhaus with chimney (1898) and the Steigerhaus (1900). The Treibehaus with the present steel Förderturm dates from 1953.
With the introduction of the gold standard in 1873 (Goldmark), the Freiberger silver mining industry entered a prolonged decline. All Silbergruben in Freiberg were closed in 1913 following a collapse in silver prices. In 1919 the TU Bergakademie Freiberg (then Bergakademie) took over the Über- and Untertageanlagen of the Himmelfahrt Fundgrube and began using them for student teaching and research. From 1937 to 1969 the Schacht Reiche Zeche grew into the most important Förderschacht of the mine, as ore extraction was progressively concentrated there; the last ore was raised in 1968. Since 1969 no ore has been extracted. From 1981 the Schacht Reiche Zeche has served as a Lehr- und Forschungsbergwerk. Since 1991 the Himmelfahrt Fundgrube has been open for visitor befahrungen.
The surviving underground features include a Radstube of 1846/47, the remnants of the 1882 Wassersäulenmaschine, and over 14 kilometres of secured galleries and Abbaue from the fourteenth to the twentieth centuries, including sections of the Alter/Tiefer Fürstenstolln (end of the fourteenth century) and the Rothschönberger Stolln (late nineteenth century). Above ground, the listed Tagesanlagen include the Maschinenhaus with its 1898 chimney, the 1953 steel Förderturm, and the 1900 Steigerhaus. The mine offers guided tours to 150 metres depth. Since 2019 the Himmelfahrt Fundgrube — comprising both Schacht Reiche Zeche and Schacht Alte Elisabeth — is an inscribed element of the UNESCO Welterbe Montanregion Erzgebirge/Krušnohoří.