Mining and Foundry Museum

The mountainous region of Styria was the most important source of iron and iron products in Austria from the Middle Ages onwards. In 1880 it made 60% of the iron in the Habsburg Empire. The museum of mining and foundry work at Gußwerk is in the impressive building of the former ‘kk’ iron foundry. A foundry was established here in the seventeenth century and the buildings were expanded in the eighteenth century. The kk foundry produced cannons, machine parts and tools.

The museum opened in 1998. It tells the story of iron mining in the region and displays the history, techniques and products of iron casting. Several cannons have been preserved – some with the iron barrels alone and some with the complete mounting. A small art foundry still works, where visitors can experience the excitement of seeing molten metal and the artworks produced by casting in iron, silver and other metals.