Pribram Mining Museum

Pribram has been mined since the Middle Ages and the Brezove Hory field produced silver on a scale that made it one of the most important in the Habsburg lands; in 1875 the Vojtech shaft here became the first in the world to pass a thousand metres, which was an international event at the time. The museum occupies the surface buildings of several shafts with their headframes, winding engines and workshops intact, and it is the largest mining museum in the Czech Republic. Visitors go underground on the Prokop and Vojtech levels, ride a mine train, and see the Anna adit. The uranium era after 1945 is covered honestly: the Jachymov and Pribram uranium mines used forced labour, and the museum documents that. The Marian pilgrimage complex of Svata Hora stands on the hill above the town.

What you actually see

• The first shaft past a thousand metres - Vojtech, reached in 1875.
• Headframes and winding engines - surface plant of several shafts intact.
• Underground routes and a mine train - the Prokop and Vojtech levels.
• The uranium era documented - including the use of forced labour after 1945.

When to go

April to October. A day.

Honest expectations

Underground routes are guided, timed and cool - book ahead in summer. The site is large and spread over several shafts. Some sections have age restrictions. The forced-labour history is presented plainly.

Nearby

Svata Hora is on the hill above; the Brdy highlands are west.