Year 2018, announced by the European Union as the European Year of Cultural Heritage, is an occasion for many cultural art and museum institutions to foreground its importance in the Polish and European history. One of the institutions in Silesia engaged in the initiatives of the year is the Coal Mining Museum in Zabrze. Since its foundation in 1981 it has seen a lot of changes. Not only the form of exposing things but also the museum exhibitions and its architectural features have been altered. We ask one of the museum’s representatives about the museum activities and its cooperation with other cities.
Our cooperation has mainly promotional character. The Industrial Route unites all the post-industrial monuments and includes some unique features such as Black Trout Adit in Tarnowskie Góry, the Coal Mine Guido, the Queen Louisa Adit and the Brewery in Tychy- says Mrs Drynda-Pędziwiatr.
During the interview we learn about the history of the museum buildings. The Queen Louisa Adit, now a top tourist attraction, was established in 1795 and its aim was to drain a coal mine situated on the level of 30 meters. The museum in Zabrze is going to introduce some new attractions for visitors soon.
Nowadays, the Queen Louisa Adit is connected with the mine with some galleries. We’ve got some mine workings underground and on the ground tourists can visit an interactive park called 12C with many attractions for both children and adults and the Park of Military Technology with a number of vehicles.
The museum is recognized as a historical monument and now is applying to be included on the UNESCO Heritage list. One of its activities is organization of some cultural events on the grounds of Park 12C and the adit. It is worth mentioning that the museum complex is open every day and foreign visitors are guided here too.
We provide some Italian, French, Hungarian and Czech speaking guides. More and more tourists are visiting the mines and the Queen Louisa Adit which is our number one. Among the attractions one can find some newly opened underground boat trips along the longest underground water route in Poland!
The complex used to be an inseparable part of the local people’s life and drove growth and employment in the area. Now as a postindustrial monument it’s a prominent symbol of our region’s history.
Report from the meeting of students of Technical School No. 2 in Ruda Śląska with a representative of the Coal Mining Museum in Zabrze on October 29, 2018 organized as part of the Good School For The XXI Century 2018-2020 project of the Erasmus+ program.
The report was drawn up by Patryk Obarski the 3rd year student of Technical School No 2 in Ruda Śląska.
(translation: Ewa Piechota)
The content of the material expresses only the author’s opinion, the EC is not responsible for any use of the information contained therein.
