Ridanna Monteneve mines

Description

Monteneve is one of the highest mines in Europe and, also, the longest-exploited metal mine in the Alpine region. The mineral deposit extends across Alto Adige beneath the mountain range that stretches between the Ridanna (Ridnaun) and Passiria valleys at an altitude of 2,000 / 2,650 m.
Over the course of about a thousand years, armies of miners have extracted precious minerals such as silver, lead and zinc in extreme climatic and working conditions. They dug a labyrinth of tunnels, shafts and passages of 130 / 150 km. The flourishing of mining activity led to the construction of the largest railway-driven mineral transport system in the world, still largely intact today.

Position on map