Dwarves are said to have dug for gold and silver in the Venetianerstollen in the Bastenberg, above Ramsbeck. Little men from distant Venice are said to have unearthed ore from which they smelted gold. The so-called 'Venetians' gave the tunnel its name. The story is now being investigated archaeologically - with astonishing results. The investigations indicate that mining has been carried out in the Venetianerstollen since the 10th century. This makes Bestwig one of the few areas in Europe where mining was carried out at this time.
Although no gold was mined, as legend has it, silver-bearing galena and copper were. Could it have been very small people who did the mining? The tunnel has a very small cross-section. Some of it is only 60 to 50 centimetres wide and 140 centimetres high. Silver was used to make coins back then and was the basis of currency.
