The St. Veit deposit consisted of several
mining districts called Schlegelberg, auf
der Au, Ragglgraben, Schwanhalt and
Meseneben. The largest of the mining
districts is in the area of today’s Reicher
creek and Toifen creek. Finds show
mining activity as early as the Bronze
Age between 1850 and 1000 BC and
again in the Middle Ages starting in the
13th Century. Mining at auf der Au was
fi rst documented around 1529. It was
last mentioned in 1548, but there are
indications that some tunnels were still
being mined into the 19th Century.
Mining at auf der Au may not only have
been abandoned due to a lack of copper
ore (tetrahedrite) that could be mined, but
also, as can be inferred from a 1543 report,
due to an unmanageable influx of water
in the deeper parts of the mine. Of the 17
tunnels shown on the mining map from
the late Middle Ages, the St. Mathäus
mine transport tunnel, the St. Christoffen
fissure, the St. Christoffen vein, the
Allerheiligen and St. Kathrein pits and the
Sunnpau mine are known by name.