Mining Museum

The Příbram Mining Museum, now a public institution 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 era 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 the history of local mining and metallurgy to the public, from prehistoric times (the Celtic period) to the present day; they provide an insight into mining folklore whilst also offering a tour of unique mineralogical-geological specimens from the Březové Hory silver-ore district, the Příbram uranium deposit and the Podbrdy iron-mining 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, dating 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 go underground and take a ride on the 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 section 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).

Address: náměstí H. Kličky 293, Příbram VI-Březové Hory, tel. 318 626 307, 318 622 566, 318 626 675, fax 318 622 566

http://www.muzeum-pribram.cz