Podziemne Muzeum "Kopalnia Zlota" w Zlotym Stoku

Gold Mine in Zloty Stok

Useful Information

Location:	Złoty Stok, ul Zlota 7. Zloty Stok, Zabkowicki, Lower Silesia. Between Klodzko and Nysa. In Zloty Stok turn south at the sawmill, 1 km at the end of the road. (50.440009, 16.874823)
Open:	APR to OCT daily 9-18, last admission at 17. NOV to MAR daily 9-16, last admission at 15. [2025]
Fee:	Gold Mine: Adults PLN 58, Children (4-16) PLN 48, Students PLN 48, Seniors PLN 48. Mining Village: Adults PLN 42, Children (4-16) PLN 32, Students PLN 32, Seniors PLN 32. Ochrowa Adit: Adults PLN 31, Children (4-16) PLN 26, Students PLN 26, Seniors PLN 26. [2025]
Classification:	Gold Mine Arsenic Mine
Light:	Incandescent
Dimension:	L=300,000 m, 21 levels, T=7 °C.
Guided tours:	Gold Mine: D=90 min. Mining Village: D=60 min. Ochrowa Adit: D=45 min. V=200,000/a [2015] V=250,000/a [2018]
Photography:
Accessibility:
Bibliography:
Address:	"Kopalnia Zlota" Sp z. o. o., Aurum Tourist Services Co., ul Zlota 7, 57-250 Złoty Stok, Tel: +48-74-817-5574, Fax: +48-74-817-6120. E-mail: Reservations, Tel: +48-74-817-5508.
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

13th century	start of mining.
16th century	begin of underground mining.
1612	first use of gunpowder.
19th century	main mines closed.
1883	bought by the German Wilhelm Guttler.
1946	ownership transferred to the Polish government.
1961	production dropped.
1962	mine closed.
1991	begin of development as a show mine.
28-MAY-1996	opened to the public.

Geology

Gold was first exploited in the stream outside the current mine, which is a placer deposit as a result of the erosion of the gold bearing rocks. The bedrock is largely gneiss with shale bands. The ore gangues contain various minerals, arsenic and gold.

Description

The old gold mine at the village Złoty Stok (Zloty Stok) houses the Podziemne Muzeum "Kopalnia Zlota" w Zlotym Stoku (Underground Museum "Gold Mine" in Zloty Stok). A few years ago there were two mine tunnels open to the public, the Czarna gallery which shows the 16th century hand-excavated tunnels and the Gertruda tunnel with an underground waterfall. It seems they lately reorganized their tours and now offer three different tours, the underground tour, the mining village and the Ochrowa Addit, which was recently discovered and developed as a part of the show mine. It seems this adit was flooded for centuries, and to make it accessible pumps were installed. The adit was used since 1914 to pump arsenic rich water from the mine fur medical purposes. According to German research during the First World War, the water had properties accelerating the healing of wounds, and it used to improve the health condition people suffering from anaemia. If you take two or three tours, you should check for the combo tickets, which are cheaper. The mining museum still exists and is accessible self-guided with the Gold Mine tour.

Zloty Stok is located in the Golden Mountains, which is the local name of this part of the Sudetes mountain range. According to local legend, the gold mining started already in the 7th century, but the first documented evidence is from the 13th century, which means this is Poland’s oldest gold mine. During the Hussite wars in the early 15th century the mine was destroyed, mining ended. It was started again by Prince Henryk Starszy Podiebradowicz at the end of the 15th century. Then the mining rights were given to the village Zloty Stok. During the 16th century were the heydays of the mine, which brought prosperity to the village. Foreign investors, mostly from Germany, boosted the mining further. At this time the mine produced some 150 kg of gold per year, which was 8% of all European gold production. During the 17th century the mining was improved by the introduction of gunpowder, formerly the ore was heated with fire and cooled with water, so it cracked and could easily be removed. Unfortunately the arsenic in the ore evaporated by the heat and caused an early death of most miners. But the 30 Years War put an end to the mining and almost deserted the town.

The next important development started in the mid-17th century. Hans Scharffenberg, a chemist form Vienna, discovered the use and methods for the extraction of arsenic. His sons completed his work and in the early 18th century the mine started to produce arsenic as well as gold. In this early time the price of arsenic was three times the price of gold. During the Prussian-Austrian War mining stopped again and was started once more in 1770.

In the mid-19th century the usage of chloride for the extraction of the gold was discovered and was a breakthrough for the local gold production. The whole mine was purchased by the German Wilhelm Guttler in 1883. He developed the mine and introduced new technologies including the mining railroad, steam engines for pumping water, ventilation and drills powered by compressed air. In the early 20th century the production of arsenic reached its peak of nearly 2400 tonnes per year, which was 20% of the world production.

After World War II the ownership of the mine was transferred to the Polish government, the mine was unaffected by the war. German Miners were replaced by Polish coal miners. At first the production of the mine increased, but in 1961 the production dropped and in 1962 the mine was abandoned by the government. There is no reason for this closure, as the mine was actually productive. During the centuries the Zloty Stok mine produced 16 tons of pure gold.

From the total mine estimated 300 km long on 21 levels, only 30 km are still accessible and surveyed. The lower levels are flooded or collapsed. The accessible part was used for a show mine, and there is also the possibility to make so-called extreme mine visits. Participants are equipped with overall, helmet, lamp and rubber boots and explore passages which are secured but undeveloped.