Did you know ...

that a potash pit in the Werra Valley was once the richest mine in the world?

During the Second World War the gold reserves of the doomed German Reich were stored in the Kaiserroda potash mine in Merkers. In 1945 the Nazis had tried to conceal from the allies 8,645 gold bars, countless platinum and silver bars, as well as 600.000 gold coins to a total current value of more than 2 billion Euros, not forgetting valuable works of art. Nonetheless the allies quickly found the hidden treasure trove and brought it back to the surface. Today the "gold room" in the Merkers Adventure Mine, an anchor point on the European Route of Industrial Heritage, reminds visitors of this historical event.