Jáma Jiří Mine

Welcome to Žacléři. You are standing in a place that is deeply rooted in the history of this region and that once beat the heart of the whole area. Before your eyes, there is a building that once was a gateway to the underground world, a place where human courage, hard work and the relentless force of nature met. Feel this atmosphere. Even though it is now quiet and quiet, imagine how this place once lived. Imagine the noise of machines, the screams of workers and the constant movement that was there of course. You're standing in a place where time stopped, but where life used to move around in its toughest, industrial form.

Let's go back together to when everything started here. We are at the turn of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, an era that changed the face of the world. Welcome to the time when humanity began to rely on the power of coal. Probably in 1819 the Gaberlos family began to dig the first pits. Imagine the uncertainty at that time, the tireless work in the first stage of mining, when everything was done with much smaller resources than it was normal later. This family placed the first stones under the future industrial size of this place. It was an era of pioneers who were deep down looking for resources to drive forward future progress.

Now pay close attention to the building in front of you. Notice her silhouette, especially the tower that dominates the whole view. This mining building with a tower is not just an ordinary building. It is a symbol of technical progress that has created a new era in these places. In 1848 something happened here that impressed the world at the time - a steam engine was installed here. At that time, it was the ultimate peak of human scientific and technical reasoning. Imagine the incredible power that began to manifest itself here. This technology has changed everything. It was no longer just hand work, but the work of machines that were unfettered hungry for coal. This tower and building that you are now observing witnessed this technological leap, which made the Jiri pit a modern deep mine.

If you look at the history of this place, you'll find out how deep people have fallen into darkness. In 1855, the pit was deepened to a depth of 300 feet. That's an incredible distance when you realize the challenges of the time. Imagine the darkness, the great pressure of the earth and the constant work in the depths where the light of the sun never reached. This pit had a specific rectangular profile, which had to be very demanding for precision when constructing and mining. Each meter of depth meant more work, more danger and more effort.

In this history, people who took care of this place and who shaped this place were constantly taking turns. We can name here, for example, Baron Silberstein, whose name is closely linked to this place. Every new owner, every new era of ownership has brought new visions, new technologies, and new ways to mine this precious black stone. These places have always been associated with the ambitions of great personalities who saw them not only as a source of wealth, but also as an engine of economic development throughout the region.

The interesting thing is that even though you see this object today as a calm part of the landscape, its path to becoming a cultural monument was very long and uneasy. After years of intensive mining, there was a time when the extraction was no longer paid off. In 1994, this pit was filled and the object was handed over to the city of Žacléř. This was the end of an era where it was extracted here, but it was also the beginning of a new era of memory. In 1996 this mining building with a tower was officially declared a cultural monument of the Czech Republic. It is proof that even a place that has served to do heavy, often dangerous work can have enormous historical and cultural value. It's a monument to human effort and technological development.

We now invite you to further explore. This monument is now part of the educational route J. A. K. Continue your journey, feel the surrounding landscape and remember those who once worked here in the depths of the country. Let yourself be carried away by the atmosphere of this place and discover other secrets that hide in the vicinity. Thank you for joining us and for making time for this encounter with history. We wish you a pleasant journey.