Gold Mine in Złoty Stok

The Gold Mine in Złoty Stok is a tourist attraction organised in a former gold and arsenic mine, opened on 28 May 1996. The site is run by the Przedsiębiorstwo Usług Turystycznych Kopalnia Złota (Gold Mine Tourist Services Company). The routes run through the galleries of the former mine, which operated in the Złoty Stok area for centuries.

Mining from the Middle Ages to the 1960s

The tradition of arsenic and gold mining around Złoty Stok goes back to the Middle Ages. In 1907 an electric narrow-gauge railway with a 500-millimetre track gauge was put into operation, used to haul ore from the galleries to the railway station in Złoty Stok. After the Second World War the mine was taken over by the Polish state, and in 1961 it was closed because mining was no longer profitable. A quarry was subsequently opened above the former mine, where the extracted material was tipped down shafts into the former Upper Black Adit and hauled by rail to the crusher building. The quarry closed in the early 1980s.

From gallery tours to a museum

Tours of the underground galleries were started in 1969 by the works' PTTK circle, which opened the Książęca Gallery to visitors. In 1996 the Gold Mine Museum was established on the site of the former mine, and in 2015 the site received the Gold Certificate of the Polish Tourist Organisation.

Visitor routes

Guided tours cover several routes. The main route runs through the underground workings of the former gold mine, where the Mining Museum operates, with an exhibition devoted to the history of mining in Złoty Stok. A separate route is the Ochre Adit, showing colourful mineral formations. A medieval mining settlement has also been recreated on the site, illustrating the life of miners centuries ago. On the main route visitors can take a boat trip through a partly flooded gallery and enter the Czarna Gallery, with its underground waterfall.

Additional attractions

Besides touring the underground routes, visitors can try gold panning on site, strike their own gold coin, cast a gold bar and search for minerals in the exhibition. A boat trip along the flooded gallery requires advance booking. For groups, the guides organise so-called "fabuły", themed tour scenarios.

The underground railway

In 2008 an underground narrow-gauge railway was put into operation, carrying tourists from the Czarna Dolna Gallery a distance of about 300 metres after they have seen the underground waterfall. The railway has a 600-millimetre track gauge and consists of an Ldag-5 battery locomotive and five passenger carriages.

Practical information

• The mine is located in Złoty Stok, in Ząbkowice County.
• The site is open daily from 9:00 to 17:30, with last admission at 17:30, but it is worth checking the hours on the mine's website before you visit.
• Nearby are the Orchid Heap and Góra Krzyżowa (Cross Mountain).
• It is worth combining the visit with the Museum of Warnings, Remarks and Appeals, located right next door.
• There are catering points and accommodation around the complex, and visitors should book ahead for the boat trip.