Břidlicové podzemí Raabova štola

Useful Information

Location:	Zálužné 42, 74901 Vítkov. (49.816400, 17.710703)
Open:	APR to OCT daily after appointment. [2023]
Fee:
Classification:	Slate Mine
Light:	Incandescent Electric Light System
Dimension:	L=100 m.
Guided tours:	Min=5, Max=10.
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:
Address:	Břidlicové podzemí Raabova štola, Zálužné 42, 74901 Vítkov, Tel: +420-722-085248. E-mail:
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

1873	beginning of slate mining.
1888	end of slate mining.
2018	opened as a show mine.

Geology

Description

Břidlicové podzemí Raabova štola (Raab Tunnel) is a slate mine which was operated only for 15 years. There were numerous accidents resulting in a total of six fatalities. The mines belong to the Geopark Krajina břidlice and the Moravian-Silesian Technical Trail of the European Route of Industrial Heritage. The tunnel is managed by the Spolek Zálužné (Zálužné Association).

The mines in the Hornigsgrund, the valley of the Hornik stream, are located on the western slope of the valley, where the shale deposit is located. Seven tunnels are called Raab mines after Johann Raab, owner of farm No. 54 in Staré Těchanovice and tenant of the local municipal inn in 1873. The mines are of similar layout, the tunnels are 100 m apart and go 50 m to 80 m into the hillside, until the shale deposit was reached. Then they started to mine to the sides which resulted in a transverse trace tunnels which ended each in a mining chamber. He started the mining employing local householders, sharecroppers and cottagers. Out of ignorance and also carelessness, there were accidents with serious consequences, including casualties. As a result Johann Raab closed the mines in 1888.