Idrija – on the Mercury Route on the prestigious UNESCO World Heritage List For one day go back in time and experience life in the more than 500-year 500 year-old mining town with ith the 2nd oldest and largest Mercury Mine M in the world (whose whose heritage is placed on the UNESCO World Heritage list). The technical heritage of Idrija, formed above the Idrija Mercury Mine and developed together with it over the centuries, will be presented to you on the tour of the main technical monuments, monuments all recently renovated, which bear witness to the magnificence of our oldest mining town. You will take a walk around the town with a local guide and learn about the development of the town. Then, you will visit Anthony’s Shaft where you will descend into the underground of the Idrija Mercury Mine and learn about the extraction of the ore, about the mining techniques in different periods, periods and about the work and lives of miners.
In Idrija, a special type of house of Slovenia was formed in the past – the Idrija miner's house.. This residential building, nowadays a museum, was builtt in the second half of the 18th century. In 1910, 18 people lived in it.. In this renovated miner's house, arranged as a museum, you will get to know numerous stories about the lives of the Idrija miner and his family. The exterior of the house gives an impression of a prominent building, it is surrounded by gardens and the ground floor is furnished as a typical miner’s apartment fro rom the first half of the 20th century. After visiting the miner’s house, you will take a walk across a part of the town called ‘Na lejnštatu’ to the Idrija Kamšt, Kamšt a wooden motive wheel 13,6 m in diameter, which was a part of the mechanism used to pump water out of the depths of the mine. These kinds of wheels – kamšti – operated in several parts of Idrija until the beginning of the 20th century.
On the platform above the Kamšt, old engines are displayed, which once served as a means of transport of the ore, and beside it, you can see the channel called ‘Rake’, ‘Rake’, which was constructed to ensure the constant flow of water on the wooden motive wheel. You can also rest your eyes during a short walk through the Scopoli’s Memorial Garden.
After trying some excellent local traditional dishes, dishes you will continue to learn about the importance of the Idrija technical heritage in the past centuries.
A museum curator will guide you through a collection of restored mine steam and electrical machines, pumps and haulage machines, machines which are displayed for the public in the Frančiška's Shaft and you will end your tour in the Idrija Municipal Museum at the Castle Gewerkenegg, which hosts different exhibitions, among them ‘Five Centuries of the Idrija mine and town' and ‘Idrija Lace – a History Written in Thread’. Here, you will be able to connect everything you have seen and heard during the day in one place.
Price per person in a group of up to 20 people: 30,30 € The cost of hiring a local guide is not included in the price. The price involves all visited venues including entrance fees, lunch and the arrangements.
TOURIST INFORMATION CENTRE Idrija T: +386 5 37 43 916 FAX: +386 5 37 43 915 E: tic@visit-idrija.si idrija.si W: http://www.visit-idrija.si;; www.idrija-turizem.si www.idrija