Gelnica offers a pleasant atmosphere, beautiful surroundings and a dose of mining history. Lake Turzov together with the building of the former spa is an attractive destination especially during hot summer days.
Mining Museum
The tradition of collecting documentary materials on mining began during the reign of Maria Theresa. The museum was founded in 1963. It can be found in the building of the former town hall. Most of the exhibitions come from the surroundings of Gelnice. They mainly present 19. and the 20th century.
Part of the mining museum is Jozef Shed. Since 2016 it has been open to the public and entry costs € 3 per person. In the past, the gallery made the southeastern part of the Gelnica vein accessible. It is more than one and a half kilometres long. The visit adits are ordered at least 24 hours prior to entry. For more information, please visit pages of the municipality of Gelnica.
Mining nature trail in Gelnica
My six stops and leads along well-maintained roads. All ages can handle it. The trail starts at Mining Square. Followed by a stop Under the castle hill with several underground spaces. Fourteen underground passages were found here.
The next stop is Heritage cross adit – probably the oldest tunnel of the Cross Vein. Some sources date its foundation to the 15th century. Continued New cross tunnelwhere copper ore was mined in the 1960s and 1970s.
Part of the God’s Gift Trail is a system of smaller veins intensively used for mining during the 18th and first half of the 19th century. The last stop is The Jozef Heritage Shed, which is also part of the Mining Museum exposition.
Pochwerk Gelnica
The first step towards the planned mining museum in Gelnica. Pochwerk is unique mining crushing machine. It was used in the 17th century to separate precious metals from impurities. It is powered by water from the nearby Lake Thurz. Come and see how ore was processed 300 years ago. The mining open-air museum will gradually be expanded to include other interesting mechanisms used in the past.
Remains of Gelnica Castle
The ruins of Gelnica Castle are easily accessible and surrounded by a pleasant environment. The ruins are only about a 10-minute walk from the Mining Museum. The path to the castle is signposted, so you won’t get lost. The original appearance of Turzo Castle from the 13th century remains a mystery. Only two old photographs from the period when the building was destroyed have survived.
Lake Turzov and the abandoned Turzov spa building
The Turzov area is 2 km from Gelnica. You will find here Lake Turzov along with the abandoned bathhouse building. In the times of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the spa was visited by people of higher rank from the whole monarchy. During the summer in lake many people bath enjoying the sunshine by the shore. Visitors rate Lake Turzov and the remains of the spa very positively.
Take a trip to Gelnica and get inspiration from the mining history and beautiful surroundings. All ages will find something to enjoy :).