Banská Štiavnica

Schemnitzer Revier


Useful Information

Location: Banská Štiavnica. 165 km from Bratislava, towards east/Zvolen.
Open: Kammerhof: JAN to FEB Mon-Fri 8-16.
MAR Tue-Sun 8-16.
APR Mon-Fri 8-16.
MAY to JUN daily 9-17.
JUL to AUG daily 9-19.
SEP daily 9-17.
OCT to DEC Mon-Fri 8-16.
Berggericht: JAN to APR Tue-Sun 8-16.
MAY to JUN daily 9-17.
JUL to AUG daily 9-19.
SEP daily 9-17.
OCT to DEC Tue-Sun 8-16.
Open-Air Mining Museum. APR Tue-Sun 8-16.
MAY to JUN daily 9-17.
JUL to AUG daily 9-19.
SEP daily 9-17.
OCT Tue-Sun 8-16.
NOV Tue-Sun 9-16.
DEC to MAR [2007]
Fee:
Classification: polymetallic MineGold Mine MineSilver Mine MineBaryte Mine
Light: LightIncandescent Electric Light System
Dimension:
Guided tours: Kammerhof: self guided.
Berggericht: self guided.
Open-Air Mining Museum: D=90 min, L=1,300 m, VR=45 m.
Photography:
Accessibility:
Bibliography:
Address: Slovenské banské múzeum, Kammerhofská 2, 96901 Banská Štiavnica, Tel: +421-45-694-9422, +421-45-694-9447, Fax: +421-45-692-0761. E-mail: contact
Mineralogická expozícia, Berggericht, Nám. sv. Trojice 6, Banská Štiavnica, Tel: +421-45-691-2544.
Štôlna Glanzenberg, Kammerhofská 26, Banská Štiavnica, Tel: +421-45-694-9422, +421-45-694-9418. Appointments: +421-45-692-0535.
Banské múzeum v prírode Banská Štiavnica, Jozefa Karola Hella 414/12, 96901 Banská Štiavnica, Tel: +421-45-691-2971, +421-45-694-9447, Fax: +421-45-692-0761. E-mail: contact
The Geopark Information Centre, Námestie Svätej Trojice 6, Banská Štiavnica, Tel: +421-45-692-0535, Fax: +421-45-692-0534. E-mail: contact
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

1217 at least 600kg silver per year produced.
15th century in one year 2662kg silver produced.
1740 25,896kg silver and 582kg gold produced.
1782 Kaiser-Josef II.-Erbstollen (adit) started.
1878 Kaiser-Josef II.-Erbstollen (adit) with a length of 16,538 m completed.
1900 Mestského múzea (Municipal Museum) founded.
1927 Štátneho banského múzea Dionýza Štúra (State Mining Museum of Dionýz Štúr) founded.
1964 both museums united to the Slovak Mining Museum.
1974 open air museum opened to the public.
1993 last mine finally closed
1993 inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
JUL-2003 Štôlna Glanzenberg opened to the public.

Geology

The mining area, originally called Schemnitzer Lagerstätte - Schemnitz is the former name of Banská Štiavnica - is a system of lodes. The hydrothermal deposits in the dikes contain a great variety of minerals and ores, the classical hydrothermal polymetallic deposit. In an area of 14 km by 5 km a number of 120 lodes is known, many of them between one and five meters thick, which made the mining profitable. There were even rare lodes of up to 50 m thickness.

The lodes contained a great number of minerals, more than 100 were documented. The most important were pyrite (FeS2) which is an iron and sulfur ore, chalkopyrite (CuFeS2), sphalerite (ZnS), galenite (PbS), quartz, calcite, and locally gold and silver. As a result numerous metals and other valuable substances were mined.

Description

The Slovenské banské múzeum (SBM, Slovak Mining Museum) at Banská Štiavnica is an ensemble of mining related buildings, exhibitions, museums, and a show mine. There are various mining related locations in the area of the town which can be visited.

The core museum is the Slovenské banské múzeum (Slovak Mining Museum), a combination of two museums, the Mestského múzea (Municipal Museum) Štátneho banského múzea Dionýza Štúra (State Mining Museum of Dionýz Štúr). It collects minerals, exhibits on mining technology, ethnography, art, archaeology and has a great numismatic collection. It is specialized on the documentation of the mining heritage of the Slovak Republic. There is also a big exhibition on the the history of Banská Štiavnica and its environs. Further topics of the museum are education in Slovakia, and the history of book printing in the region Banská Štiavnica. The museum is located in the center of Banská Štiavnica in a building called Kammerhof. Kammerhof is German, as the village belonged to the Austrian Empire at the heydays of the mining. It means seat of the so called Kammer (Mining Chamber Earls) and was also the seat of the mining board of management. The building dates back to the 13th century and is the largest building complex in the town, designated a national cultural monument.

The Mineralogická expozícia (Mineralogical exhibition) is located in the Berggericht (Mining Court). During the 16th century this building was the seat of the Mining Court, later used by the famous Banskej akadémie (Mining Academy). The Mineralogical Exposition is a collection of more than 400 different minerals, organised by a mineralogic systematics. Inside the museum is also a mining tunnel, the štôlna Michal (Michael Tunnel) from the 16th century. The first 75 m have been developed and are now part of the museum.

Štôlna Glanzenberg (Glanzenberg tunnel) is another historic mine tunnel, located close to the Kammerhof. It was visited by the Slovak president Rudolf Schuster and Prince Albert of Monaco. The tunnel belongs to one of the oldest mines of the region, mining started probably in the 13th century, but the first written account is from 1560. An exhibition inside the tunnel is dedicated to the famous visitors now and then.

The Banské múzeum v prírode (Open-Air Mining Museum) is located outside the village. The underground tour shows the Štôlna Bartolomej (Bartolomej tunnel), which is part of the 16th century mine sachty Ondrej (Ondrej shaft). The visitors are equipped with raincoats and helmets. Two levels of the mine, at 33 m and 45 m are visited on the 1,300 m long tour. The open air mine area around the tunnel entrance shows various mining buildings like the elevator engine from 1881 and the iron mine head of the Strojovňa Kachelmannov. An exposition presents the geological history of Slovakia. The newest exposition Expozicia Uholneho Banictva (Coal Mining Exposition) shows coal-mining machinery from Slovakia and Czech Republic.

Banská Štiavnica is part of the Slovak GeoPark. The GeoPark Information Center is located in the Berggericht. A good addition to the mining related sights at the village is the Paradajs Instructive Geological Trail. Paradajs Hill is an ancient stratovolcano, and the 4.2 km long trail explains its formation, structure, and the connection to the mining activities.

In the fifteenth century this building was used as a mining court house. The wealth of the area is based on the thirteenth century silver mines. The museum houses an important geological collection and has some fine mining displays.

Not to be missed is the underground tour. The visitor is kitted out with helmet and overcoat and taken on a tour of the seventeenth century Ondres Silver Mine. The narrow, damp passages give a dramatic impression of the terrible working condition of the miners in the thirteenth century and it is not for the faint hearted.

The surface exhibitions show mining through the ages and describe the technical innovations of the local mining school. Unfortunately information is only available in German and Slovak.


Text by Tony Oldham (2002). With kind permission.