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The Steinkaulenberg

Europe's only public gemstone mine, Idar-Oberstein, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany
ACCESSIBLE
Evidence status: Historical tradition. no documented source (historical tradition); legal status unknown (manual verification recommended). This account is presented as historical tradition, not verified fact. Manual verification recommended. Repository evidence: 0 sources · 0 timeline events · 0 media items · legal unknown · view on the Map Evidence on file: historical tradition

The Steinkaulenberg: still unexplained.

Amethyst, agate, rock crystal from the old cutters' mountain

The law of this ground: Visitor mine and dig camp open 15 March, 30 November; camp finds are yours to keep.
The subject
developing the photograph…
The manifest
Amethyst, agate, rock crystal from the old cutters' mountain
The account

Idar-Oberstein cut gems for the courts of Europe for five centuries, and the mountain that fed the trade is the only gemstone mine on the continent still open to anyone. Guides walk you through 400 metres of glittering tunnel, and outside, at the gemstone camp, you take a pick to the old spoil tips and keep whatever the mountain lets go.

Leads, where the trail points now
  • What you can keep: Amethyst, agate, rock crystal from the old cutters' mountain. Confirm the site's current rules and any day fee before you go.
  • Where: Idar-Oberstein, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Visitor mine and dig camp open 15 March, 30 November; camp finds are yours to keep.
  • Best practice: record anything notable, leave the ground as you found it, and check the latest access notices before you travel.
What the record holds

What remains open

  • No period map of the site has surfaced.
  • No contemporary press coverage has been found.
What we know, and what we don't
Established

No documentary claim is yet established. The account rests on tradition.

Still open
  • No period map of the site has surfaced.
  • No contemporary press coverage has been found.
The evidence room

No documentary or visual exhibits have been located yet. The trail below and the open leads are where this dossier grows next — every exhibit that enters here carries a source.

Where the trail points now
  • What you can keep: Amethyst, agate, rock crystal from the old cutters' mountain. Confirm the site's current rules and any day fee before you go.
  • Where: Idar-Oberstein, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Visitor mine and dig camp open 15 March, 30 November; camp finds are yours to keep.
  • Best practice: record anything notable, leave the ground as you found it, and check the latest access notices before you travel.
  • Search Library of Congress + DPLA (IIIF) for period cartography of the site.
  • Run Chronicling America for dated newspaper mentions.
  • Query NARA for archival records tied to the site.

Have a source, a map, or a clipping? Add a lead and it enters the record with its citation.

Start the hunt here
The first leads, so no one walks in cold.
Sources and the record
Related case files

The full hunt kit

Starting brief, what's known and disputed, evidence timeline, source list, map card, coordinate-confidence and legal-access summaries, and a field checklist, free with a Fellowship account.

Latest Word From the Newswire

Context, not proof. The dossier's own sources remain the evidence record.

Checking the wire…

Chart position 49.720°, 7.310° (approx.) View on the Map