Článek Lorenzo’s smelter se nejdříve objevil na Northern Moravia.

Článek Flaschar’s Mine se nejdříve objevil na Northern Moravia.

The tour also includes an exhibition of Ferdinand the Horse and other four-legged miners. A number of legends are told about the fate of more than a hundred horses that worked not only in the mines in Ostrava, especially in the second half of the 19th century… And if you would like to taste the miners’ specialties, go to the local stylish Harenda U Barborky.

You can take a walk in the forest on the Landek hill, where you can reach a lookout tower with a view of the whole Ostrava and the old Slavic fortress. The owners of this estate guarded the Amber Trail from here, from a perch above the confluence of the Odra and Ostravice rivers, and the Hlučín region was also administered from here.

Landek is the site of a unique find. A team of archaeologists found a statue of the Landek or Petřkovice Venus here. A prehistoric hunter carved it 25 thousand years ago and archaeologists discovered it under a mammoth stool.

The museum is perfectly accessible by a cycle path that runs along the Odra River and follows the trail along the banks of the Ostravice River. It leads around the centre of Ostrava to the Beskydy Mountains.

Článek Landek Park se nejdříve objevil na Northern Moravia.

Gold melted well, so that as early as the thirteenth century people around Rýmařov were able to smelt gold of almost 100% purity. Iron ore smelters are better known. One of the last original blast furnaces can be seen near the village of Drakov. It is a stone tower that was used to produce iron at the beginning of the 19th century.

Today’s Karlova Studánka was also built for processing iron ore. 

efore the spa was established there were smelters and the settlement was called Hubertov. Tourists can still remember this history in the Hubert’s Chapel, which is decorated with a depiction of the work of the smelters. The hot slag from the smelters was even used to heat the water for the new spa.

You can also get acquainted with metallurgy and iron processing at the Scythe Maker’s House  in Karlovice. In this area, blast furnaces were burning as early as the 16th century and were only displaced by the modern and large ironworks in Ostrava. Iron was smelted in Vrbno pod Pradědem, nearby Mnichov and other places.

A large Wilhelm’s ironworks was built in Ludvík, whose distinctive brick and stone building can still be seen by the roadside today. The production of pig iron was followed by the processing of this raw material in forges and ironworks. In this field, too, the local people were top in Europe. Already during the Thirty Years’ War, they were able to forge iron of such high quality in Břidličná that the local ironworks supplied 500 muskets a week to the imperial army.

Glass was also melted in Jeseníky. The production of traditional glass is still commemorated by the family glassworks in Mnichov near Vrbno pod Pradědem, where tourists can not only learn about the history but also see how glass cups are made.

Článek Metallurgy in the Jeseníky Mountains se nejdříve objevil na Northern Moravia.

In the following centuries, people had to go underground in search of precious metals because the surface reserves were exhausted. The peak of mining methods was in the 16th century. 

You can find out more about mining at the Rýmařov City Museum, where you can see, among other things, an exhibition of rocks and minerals.

Článek Mining around Rýmařov se nejdříve objevil na Northern Moravia.

The Michal Coalmine was excavated in the mid-nineteenth century and was an example of sophisticated technology. Machines had to handle not only the transport of the mined coal and the lowering of miners into the depths, but also, for example, the supply of air to the workplaces or the pumping of groundwater. As development progressed, the original steam engines were replaced by electric ones.

In addition to tours for tourists, it is also a venue for exhibitions and cultural events. Those interested in the history of mining in the Ostrava region can also visit the mining museum in Landek Park or the Hlubina Mine.

Článek Michael Coalmine se nejdříve objevil na Northern Moravia.

The Jindřich Mine took advantage of this link to the Emperor Ferdinand Northern Railway. The mineshaft was originally nicknamed ‘Jáma X’ (‘Pit X’), which is why coalminers used to say they were going to excavate coal at the ‘tenner’. Although coal was excavated from this mine beginning in 1846, the tower that stands today dates from 1872. Nevertheless, it was the first steel head-frame in the territory.

Mining operations ended in the 1970s. Today, this memorabilia is one of the small number of headframes that have not been demolished. It remains preserved as evidence of the city’s mining history and as a keepsake of the traditional local colour of Ostrava.

Článek Jindřich Mine in Ostrava se nejdříve objevil na Northern Moravia.

The Alexander Mine was part of the Ferdinand Northern Railway and bears the name of the former president of this company, Count Alexander Palavicini. The miners mined coal at a depth of more than one kilometre. Mining began at the end of the nineteenth century and the mine was at that time a model of sophisticated technology and human skill, as evidenced by the machinery, boiler rooms and mining towers.

Mining at Alexander Mine ended in the 1990s and today it is a cultural monument. In the vicinity of the mine stands the original mining colony where the miners lived. The adjacent park was the birthplace of the Ostrava Zoo in the 1950s, before it moved to the current site.

Článek Alexander Coal Mine se nejdříve objevil na Northern Moravia.

The underground is always guided by former miners, so people who know the environment intimately. They can tailor engaging talks about working underground to the needs of groups.

Článek Training shaft for miners se nejdříve objevil na Northern Moravia.

Článek Vrbice wind pit in Ostrava se nejdříve objevil na Northern Moravia.