Mining Museum

Address: 293 H. Klička Square, Příbram VI-Březové Hory, Tel. 318 626 307, 318 622 566, 318 626 675, fax 318 622 566

http://www.muzeum-pribram.cz

The Příbram Mining Museum, now a contributory organisation of the Central Bohemian Region, was founded in 1886. In terms of the size of its grounds and the number of exhibitions, it is the largest mining museum in the Czech Republic. In 2004, it offered 35 permanent exhibitions situated in the historic buildings of the Ševčinský, Anenský, Vojtěš and Drkolnov mines in Příbram, in the Mint building in Nový Knín, at the Museum of Rural Buildings of the Central Vltava Region in Vysoký Chlumec, and at the Vojna Memorial – a former prison facility from the period of the Communist dictatorship. The Ševčinský Mine headframe, dating from 1879, is being considered for nomination as a UNESCO industrial heritage site. The museum is renowned for allowing visitors to descend into the historic underground tunnels of the local silver mines.

The various exhibitions in Příbram – Březové Hory present to the public the history of local mining and metallurgy from prehistoric times (the Celtic period) to the present day, provide an insight into mining folklore and also offer a tour of unique mineralogical-geological specimens from the Březové Hory silver mining district, the Příbram uranium deposit and the Podbrdy iron-smelting region.

Among the rarest exhibits are technical monuments protected by the state – the steam hoisting engine from the Vojtěš shaft dating from 1889, the steam hoisting engine from the Anna Mine dating from 1914, the mine compressor from the General Štefánik Mine dating from 1928, and the water wheel from the Drkolnov Mine from the 19th century, a mining monument of international significance. A tour of all the exhibitions takes 3 hours, though it is also possible to choose individual exhibition sections. Among the biggest attractions is the opportunity to descend underground and travel by mine train through the 260-metre-long Prokopská adit to the mouth of the deepest shaft in the Březohory ore district – the Prokop Pit, dating from 1832 and 1,600 metres deep, which is also one of the deepest in Central Europe.

It is also possible to travel underground through the 330-metre-long 18th-century Anna Water Adit, covering the section between the Anna and Vojtěch mines. On the spoil heap of the Ševčinská shaft, the museum presents an exhibition of mining equipment from the Příbram Uranium and Ore Mines, used from the second half of the 20th century to the present day.

The latest attraction is a tour of the 19th-century water wheel in the underground chambers of the Drkolnov Mine.

For geologists (both amateur and professional), the museum organises the collection of mineralogical and geological samples on its premises at the Ševčinská shaft spoil heap (for a fee).

Museum of Rural Buildings in the Central Vltava Region, Vysoký Chlumec – a branch of the Příbram Mining Museum 262 52 Vysoký Chlumec Tel.: +420 318 866 103 http://www.vysoky-chlumec.cz/html/muzeum.htm

Museum of Gold Mining and Processing in the Nový Knín Region and the History of the Town of Nový Knín – a branch of the Příbram Mining Museum, Mincovna, Náměstí Jiřího z Poděbrad 43, 262 03 Nový Knín, tel.: +420 318 593 015 fax: +420 318 593 014 e-mail: munovyknin@volny.cz http://www.mesta.obce.cz/novy-knin

The Vojna Memorial near Příbram – a branch of the Příbram Mining Museum Contact: Příbram Mining Museum, H. Klička Square 293, 261 01 Příbram VI – Březové Hory Tel.: +420 318 626 307 Fax: +420 318 622 566 Email: info@muzeum-pribram.czhttp://www.muzeum-pribram.cz