A trip into the mysterious depths of the mining past of southern Spiš

Spišská Nová Ves – Hnilčík, mining museum – Závadka – mining museum Poráč – Poráč – Spišská Nová Ves

The skilled people of the Spiš region discovered in the ancient past that the surrounding mountains are not only a valuable source of wood and food in the form of wild game or berries, but also hide much more valuable treasures. It only took a little skill and skill to extract and exploit them. These were the ores of various metals. Over the centuries, the ancestors of today’s Spišiaks discovered increasingly advanced methods of mining and subsequent processing of these ores, which ensured the region’s long-term prosperity and wealth. Nowadays, as mining activity is winding down, more and more attractive mining museums, open-air museums and educational trails are being created in Spiš in honour of its glorious mining history. On today’s trip we will learn more about mining in the villages of Hnilčík and Poráč, and we will also visit the picturesque mountain village of Závadka. From the meadows above Závadka we will enjoy a panoramic view of the entire southern Spiš region.

Mining museum Hnilčík

Our trip starts at the bus station in Spišská Nová Ves. It will not be a circular route, so we need to use public transport to get to and from the town. From platform 5 or 6, a regular bus with a terminus in Nálepkovo will take us to the village of Hnilčík. We will get off at the stop called “Zajac”. From here we continue on foot to the picturesque part of the village of “Roztoky”, where we will visit the museum exhibition of the local mining open-air museum. The exposition is located in a historic log building of a former school. It is divided into several thematic units, which are focused on the history of the village Hnilčík, ethnography and material heritage of ancestors, the geological structure of the surrounding area, living nature and last but not least on the history of mining and ore processing itself.

After a tour of the exhibition, the guide will take us about a kilometer higher up the valley, where we will look into the authentic underground space of the Ľudmila tunnel. This was originally used as a storage for explosives. As a protected national cultural monument, the mining museum also consists of four routes of educational montane trails. We will come to walk through them next time, today’s hike leads us in a different direction. After visiting the adit, we go back to the Zajac bus stop and about a hundred metres below it we turn left between the houses onto the yellow marked hiking trail towards Seliská. After three quarters of an hour of climbing we join the green hiking trail heading to the mountain village of Závadka.

Závadka – Lipy

We are located in the picturesque mountain village of Závadka. It lies at an altitude of 827 metres and is dominated by a Greek-Catholic church dedicated to the Archangel Michael. The village was founded by the noble family of the Máriássy family in the 14th century and was home mainly to smelters working in the surrounding iron and copper ore mines. In addition to mining activities, shepherding has a great tradition here. Since the 16th century, local shepherds have been renowned for producing excellent sheep’s cheese.

After a short break in the village we continue on the green hiking trail. We pass the site of Lipy and come to the chapel dedicated to John the Baptist, which stands in the meadows above the village. In good weather, we have a beautiful panoramic view of the entire Hornád basin and southern Spiš. Below us lies the town of Spišská Nová Ves and the villages in its surroundings, in the background we can admire the High Tatras.

Next we proceed along the meadow ridge below the Sosničky hill, through the locality “Smrečinka”. The hiking trail leads continuously through the top parts of this ridge of the Volovské Hills. In places below us, another village with mining history – Rudňany – emerges from the forest. After about two and a half hours of progress from Závadka, we reach the crossroads “Pod Holým vrchom”, where we join the blue hiking trail in the direction of “Peleš”. From here our today’s destination, the village of Poráč, is literally in sight. Again, we can see the views in the north-western direction of the High Tatras. Depending on the amount of time and strength we have, we can still start exploring the mining works on the circuits of the Poráč mining trail.

Porac

The village of Poráč was first mentioned in written sources in 1277. Since the 14th century it was a mining settlement, whose inhabitants were mainly engaged in mining and processing of iron and copper ores. The most abundant minerals were siderite, barite, ankerite, chalcopyrite, tetrahedrite and haematite. Precious metals – silver and gold – were also mined here to a lesser extent. A monument to centuries-old mining activity is the open-air museum in the Poráč valley, located in the neighbourhood of the Poráč Park sports and recreation centre, and 3 circuits of nature trails of various lengths. The nature trails connect several technical monuments related to mining. These are mainly entrances to mining tunnels, some of which (e.g. the Peter Tunnel) also have a part of the underground space accessible.

If we don’t want to wander around Poráč after hiking, we can see the construction of the original mining tower on the Poráč shaft (“pit”) right next to the blue hiking trail to the village, which was still in use until recently. This shaft is already a work of modern mining, it has been in operation since 1968. The operating depth of the shaft was up to 505 metres. The shaft led to the “Rochus” horizon, which connected the Porac mining underground with the neighbouring Rudňany. It was used to transport mining workers to the individual mining horizons, as well as material and tailings to the surface. The tailings were then dumped on the heap next to the shaft. We will end our trip today in the eloquent village of Porac, inhabited mainly by lively Rusyns. We have two options here – either to stay and spend a pleasant evening in the already mentioned Poráč Park resort in the nearby Poráč valley, or to take a direct public transport bus back to Spišská Nová Ves.

Questions for curious observers:

Just 15 minutes walk above the village of Poráč is another very attractive lookout hill with panoramic views of the entire southern Spiš. Do you know its name? The tourist map will help you…
Probably the most frequent destination of visitors to the village of Poráč is the nearby Poráč valley with its beautiful nature and abundant sporting opportunities in every season. The opposite end of the valley is the mouth of another picturesque village of southern Spiš, located near the town of Krompachy. Do you know its name?
From the village of Závadka there is also a hiking trail to the Markušovská valley, near the village of Markušovce. There are several remnants of industrial activity focused on ore processing. One of them, for example, is the descaling tank, on the drained bottom of which several scenes of the Slovak film Perinbaba 2 were recently filmed. There is also a very interesting rock formation near Markušovce, almost “to eat”. Do you know what this rock formation resembles?

Who is the trip for:

With its length of about 20 kilometres, it is a day trip suitable for fit hikers. In case you are a mountain biking enthusiast, most of the route can also be covered on a mountain bike, as the hiking trail is also followed by a cycling trail. A particularly cycling-attractive section is from Závadka to Poráč.

Tip:

Don’t forget to bring suitable hiking shoes and clothing, and enough food and liquids for the day in your backpack. If you are interested in visiting the Mining Open-air Museum at Hnilčík in the winter season (November – April), you need to register at least 2 days in advance by calling 0903 243 349.

More information:

Dining options nearby:

Nostalgie Restaurant & Café, Letná 49, Spišská Nová Ves, tel.: 053/441 41 44, e-mail: nostalgie@nostalgie.sk
Metropol Hotel Restaurant****, Štefánikovo námestie 2, Spišská Nová Ves, tel.: 053/417 47 00, e-mail: recepcia@hotel-metropol.sk
Poráč Park relax & sport centre, Poráčska dolina, Poráč, tel.: 0905 794 705, e-mail: poracpark@poracpark.sk, web: https://poracpark.sk

Accommodation options in the surroundings:

Hotel Metropol****, Štefánikovo námestie 2, Spišská Nová Ves, tel.: 053/417 47 00, e-mail: recepcia@hotel-metropol.sk
Pension Resa, Fabiniho 10, Spišská Nová Ves, tel.: 0905 550 475, 0944 723 343, e-mail: info@penzionresa.sk
PB Apartments, Zimná 178/43, Spišská Nová Ves, tel.: 0904 546 644, e-mail: reservation@pbapartments.sk
Apartments Spiš, Spišská 3359/3, Spišská Nová Ves, tel.: 0907 378 522, e-mail: slavomira@vastusko.sk
Poráč Park relax & sport centre, Poráčska dolina, Poráč, tel.: 0905 794 705, e-mail: poracpark@poracpark.sk, web: https://poracpark.sk