Just returned from Slovakia from a climbing trip in the Tatra Mountains. Succeeded in scaring Mrs Bertrina Bollockbrains on some high cliffs which was the aim of the trip. Took the opportunity on a very rainy non-climbing day to seek out more mines in the country further to those that I did last year and already reported on here.
Banská Štiavnica is a small town in central Slovakia that is inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List for it's rich mining heritage. The first mining here was probably done in the 3rd century BC by Celts. By the Middle Ages, Banská Štiavnica was the largest producer of silver and gold in the Kingdom of Hungary. The town was also a leading center of innovation in the mining industry. In 1627, gunpowder was used here in a mine for one of the first times in the world. To drain water from the flooded mines a sophisticated system of water reservoirs and channels, known as tajchy, was designed and built in the 18th century by the local scientists Jozef Karol Hell, Maximilian Hell, and Samuel Mikovíny. The first mining school in the Kingdom of Hungary was founded here in 1735 by Samuel Mikovíny. Mining activities declined in the later half of the 19th century and today the town survives on tourism with at least two show mines open to tourists. The most visited show mine is the Glanzenberg Adit which runs under the main high street of Banská Štiavnica and has been visited by many monarchs of the Habsburg and the Austro-Hungarian Empires in years gone by. It has 450m of passageway open to tourists and illuminated by mains electricity. I had no interest in paying up to have a look in, as I knew that dozens of adits can be found in the woods surrounding the town and they would be much more fun.
1. In woods to the south-west of the town are the remains of many mining buildings
2. I came across the Klinger Lake, built to drain water from the adits and to power mining machinery
3. Nearby was the Long Klinger Gallery, said to be 1.5km long. This is an old adit and recorded in documents in 1573. It was in someone's back garden and was unfortunately welded shut
4. Not too far away was the Short Klinger Gallery. A short adit of just 140m leading to a vertical shaft known as Amália shaft. Fortunately it interconnects with the Long Gallery
5. The reconstructed entrance was made in 1973
6. First view looking in, the initial concrete roofing is due to a road passing overhead
7. A short section of reinforcing metalwork
8. Heading further in
9. It was becoming more and more wet in there
10. Water was knee-deep by now. That yellow waterproof bag on the left by the way was full of climbing gear including ascenders, Petzl shunts and via-ferrata gear. I assume somebody else was further inside although I never met them. I left it as it was.
11. One of a few side passages, but by now the mud was becoming a mission to get through
12. I struggled forwards, the water getting deeper and the mud stickier
13. I gave up, not reaching the end and returned. Thanks to Easyjet's luggage policy I lacked the right equipment to go further.
14. Bertie junior wishing we did holidays at EuroDisney like a normal family.
15. Finally the Glanzenberg Adit that runs under the town's high street and open to tourists
Thanks for reading
Banská Štiavnica is a small town in central Slovakia that is inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List for it's rich mining heritage. The first mining here was probably done in the 3rd century BC by Celts. By the Middle Ages, Banská Štiavnica was the largest producer of silver and gold in the Kingdom of Hungary. The town was also a leading center of innovation in the mining industry. In 1627, gunpowder was used here in a mine for one of the first times in the world. To drain water from the flooded mines a sophisticated system of water reservoirs and channels, known as tajchy, was designed and built in the 18th century by the local scientists Jozef Karol Hell, Maximilian Hell, and Samuel Mikovíny. The first mining school in the Kingdom of Hungary was founded here in 1735 by Samuel Mikovíny. Mining activities declined in the later half of the 19th century and today the town survives on tourism with at least two show mines open to tourists. The most visited show mine is the Glanzenberg Adit which runs under the main high street of Banská Štiavnica and has been visited by many monarchs of the Habsburg and the Austro-Hungarian Empires in years gone by. It has 450m of passageway open to tourists and illuminated by mains electricity. I had no interest in paying up to have a look in, as I knew that dozens of adits can be found in the woods surrounding the town and they would be much more fun.
1. In woods to the south-west of the town are the remains of many mining buildings
2. I came across the Klinger Lake, built to drain water from the adits and to power mining machinery
3. Nearby was the Long Klinger Gallery, said to be 1.5km long. This is an old adit and recorded in documents in 1573. It was in someone's back garden and was unfortunately welded shut
4. Not too far away was the Short Klinger Gallery. A short adit of just 140m leading to a vertical shaft known as Amália shaft. Fortunately it interconnects with the Long Gallery
5. The reconstructed entrance was made in 1973
6. First view looking in, the initial concrete roofing is due to a road passing overhead
7. A short section of reinforcing metalwork
8. Heading further in
9. It was becoming more and more wet in there
10. Water was knee-deep by now. That yellow waterproof bag on the left by the way was full of climbing gear including ascenders, Petzl shunts and via-ferrata gear. I assume somebody else was further inside although I never met them. I left it as it was.
11. One of a few side passages, but by now the mud was becoming a mission to get through
12. I struggled forwards, the water getting deeper and the mud stickier
13. I gave up, not reaching the end and returned. Thanks to Easyjet's luggage policy I lacked the right equipment to go further.
14. Bertie junior wishing we did holidays at EuroDisney like a normal family.
15. Finally the Glanzenberg Adit that runs under the town's high street and open to tourists
Thanks for reading
