Open-Air Mining Museum Banská ?tiavnica

Amidst the Štiavnické vrchy mountains, an open-air museum of a type that is rare in Slovakia, the Open-Air Mining Museum Banská Štiavnica attracts the attention of tourist.

In addition to the above-ground exhibits, the tour of the open-air museum includes a very interesting visit to an underground pit.

The attractive underground exposition includes installed exhibits showing various ways of mining and mining works that no longer exist, as well as unique mining mechanisms, thus presenting both past and recent techniques and technologies of metal ore mining.

Equipped with helmets and raincoats small groups of visitors enter the Bartolomej pit. The underground tour is 1,300 m (1,417 yd) long and its deepest section goes through a pit which is 45 m (147 ft) below Earth's surface. The whole tour takes approximately 70-90 minutes.

In addition to visual exhibits, the guides provide information and interesting details concerning the mining activities carried out in Banská Štiavnica, for instance, also the fact that it was in Banská Štiavnica where gun powder was used in a mine for the first time ever in 1627.

On top of the underground tour, the above-ground exposition offers another lot of interesting exhibits. It contains the relocated original mining buildings, a chapel, machines and facilities as evidence of the rich mining history of the area and its environs.

The above-ground exposition features the Educational Geological Exposition which presents the geological development of Slovakia.

A visit to the Open-Air Mining Museum may be combined with a tour of the Mining Road with lower admission fees.

The visitor gets mining coat, helmet and lamp before mining. The underground exhibition is extraordinary and depicts the hard work of miners. This exhibition is suitable for everyone who would like to know more about history of Banská Štiavnica and mining in Slovakia.

Other information:

Booking for groups is strongly recommended! The guided tour is mostly realized in Slovak language, however, English text-guide is available!