Clausthal and Freiberg are very similar. We were both mining areas in the medieval time. In fact, the first real miners came frome saxonia in the nearly unpopulated Harz mountains. Than, the prisoners where asked: execution to death, or working in the mines for 30 years and being freed afterwards, if the should survive the mining. Thats how our town grew up.
Later on, they found out, that the needed more trained and skilled personell and founded the montanic school, which nowadays is Clausthal University of Technology. The university in Freiberg was founded some years earlier.