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Entirely dug by human hands
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The Saint-Jean Engelsbourg silver mine, known as Colonne Saint-Jean (Saint John's Column), was entirely dug by human activities. Today, it constitutes the largest artificial underground cavity in the Vosges massif (180 cubic meters). The Tellure mining park has installed a via ferrata that allows getting as close as possible to the quartz and silver outcrops of the galleries. Mining in the Val d'Argent area began in the Middle Ages, but it was not until the 16th century that the extraction activities flourished. Thanks to innovative digging techniques from Saxony, the Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines valley experienced unprecedented economic prosperity. More than a hundred lead, copper, and silver mines were exploited there.
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