open-air mining museum (smm)

harveywilcox

The area is based on mining so it would seem a shame to come here and not see this interesting museum - it is fun to go underground and see the conditions of the miners and the construction of mines. The guide did speak english when you spoke to him individually but when asked if he could translate during the tour there was a very clear "no". He did provide subtitles on the film but somebody mentioned a written english guide but we were not offered one. It has to be said that this detracted from the educational aspects of the tour and I wanted to know the jokes he was telling. Look out for the MIner's Moon!

joellenz2013

Don't try this if you have claustrophobia! The lengthy passages are sometimes very narrow. But it's a great education.

ativek

The first thing you should do in a town that used to extract silver is to visit a mining museum! This museum is definitely worth it! Important flaw: No english!

OmerP312

We went to this mining museum on a cool winter day and it was fabulous.It's a 1.5 km underground tour from a 15 century mine which was active until the 20's!Really nice walk below and impressive underground views.The downside - it's in Slovak only.No English tour which is really disappointing since the tour guide explains a lot about the mine and the technics.Wish they will improve and be more tourist friendly since there is s lot to explore.Still, even without the English speaking guide - you can be impressed by the history, depth and size of this mine.

SurreyGirl27

A great half day. After a short intro film, subtitled, off to get your wwaterproof, hat and lamp. Climb down lots of uneven steps and in through a horizontal shaft 50 metres down. A great trip then through the 'veins' accompanied by artifacts and photos. It is wet and slippery and cold, so wear decent shoes and long sleeves. Great traditional mining experience which opens your eyes to life underground.

877mariop

The first time I've been in a mine. I have to say that it is really very interesting. Non-slovak speaking visitors are provided with a written explanation of the tour. However that is nothing compared to the explanation given by the guide in slovak.

Jozef37

Wonderful time spent with our kids. Everybody loved it.Tip: 1) it is lot of stairs - bring comfortable shoes, flip-flops are not a good idea2) it is quite cold even in hot summer - bring some light jacket (you are going to get an oil-skin to protect you from water)

LudovitK

This place is interesting, because brings view at the almost forbidden profession. This profession has been very difficult and challenging.At the entrance to the museum will equipped by mining suit, helmet and mining lamp. The problem is a small parking place in front of the museum,

YevgM

Mining museum sounded to me like something very boring. I imagined a couple of picks and lots of stones, but in fact it was an amazing trip to the underground, with narrow passages and drops of water falling on your protective helmet :-) Definitely recommended to any D&D lover (and not to claustrophobic people).BTW, Russian is our mother tongue, but we understood about 80% of the guide explanations.

Sam-Visits

Fun & InterestingWe had fun’s one hour tour in the Silver’s open air mining museum of Banska StiavnicaWere impressed by the hard work done by hands many years ago.They made us dressed as like we were miners, walking with flashlights (which some were not charged enough so flashlights run dead before tour ends) on guided tour.NOTE that the tour is in local language so if not speaking the language, be ready to enjoy the walk without understanding all the info…If ask at the cashier, you will get an English sheet with some background. Not an easy climbing back…Admission fee of 5.00 Euro/person applies.

733jenc

Friendly, intellectual staff - the guy we had spoke superb English. Really cool to dress up as a miner .. and we were the last people of the day to visit so we got to venture into the parts usually closed to the public .. EPIC!! Due to this, got to see some incredible mosses and lichens which were thriving without any light inlet - as an ecologist, this completely made the excursion! Thanks!!

KdofMelb

Wearing a hard hat and rain coat, you get to go 50metres below ground and see how they mined in olden days until the mined stopped working, with all different types of machinery.

Project2013

We first visited the open air museum (at the same venue) and saw an old fire station, some old mining equipment and different base rocks. There are also a number of informative posters scattered around with descriptions in English. We paid extra (9 euros flat rate) for an English speaking guide as suggested below. I would definitely recommend doing so unless you are familiar with mining history and equipment. A video with English subtitles was shown at the beginning of the tour then we proceeded down to the mines with a hard hat, waterproof shell and torch. We were part of a larger Slovak speaking group but that didn't bother us, our guide would speak to us first in English then address the larger group in Slovak. Overall it was well presented and worth a visit! Note: facilities include free bathroom, a kiosk/souvenir shop and WiFi at the ticket office. Temperature underground is 9 degrees celcius in all seasons ( confirmed by the guide) so don't forget to bring a light jacket in the summer months. We didn't have a car but the museum was an easy 15-20 minute walk from town.

Fifik1

No more places in Europe like hier. You can go 400 m ander ground, like minig in mediaeval. Very interesant and exiting.

milankov

we wear special miner clothes and went to real mine, special interesting for kids, time of visit is arond 1 hour.