Museums, TOP 10, Industrial heritage

‘Atmosphere’ is the perfect word to describe what you will find on the premises of the former Michal mine in Michálkovice. Coal was mined here until 1994 but today, the mine is a national cultural monument with a unique industrial museum inside. If you decide to visit, definitely take the guided tour with the distinctive title ‘A Miner’s Journey to Work’. It will answer all the possible questions you ever had about the work of miners.

As if the miners had only left yesterday

The Michal mine tour will transport you through time and you will be able to walk through the spaces and areas that every miner had to go through before getting into the shaft. You will get to know the place where the miners picked up all the necessary equipment, you will see a typical mine chain locker room with clothes hanging from the ceiling, a snack bar, lamp dispenser or even the authentic showers. You can also get a glimpse of the geologist’s office or the infirmary.

A tour with atmosphere

The tour will take you to the mining cage lift but you can’t go underground in the Michal mine. However, it does not detract much from the authenticity of the experience. The exhibition is created in a way that makes you feel like the miners have only recently left the mine. The crown jewel of the museum is a unique and still functional steam engine from 1903.

The basic tour lasts 70 minutes, if you also want to see the engine room and the facilities of the mining building, you can choose a 90 minutes tour. Alternatively you can choose a tour of the outdoor spaces which also look very authentic, although maybe a little wild.

Prolong your trip

Permoník’s educational trail begins right at the Michal mine. Eight stops, 4.2 kilometres and a lot of new information about the history of Michálkovice. You can easily traverse it with a pram or on a bike.

You can also soak up the mining atmosphere in the U Cingra pub (that was the name of Michal mine in the times of socialism), located in the mining bathrooms.

The restaurant [49], which is located on the ČSA street in the house of the mining colony, offers a very unique interior and exterior as well as pleasant culinary experiences.

Who to visit with?

The tour is probably not for the youngest of children, although it always depends on their interests and nature. The admission for children younger than 6 is free so you can always try it. Adults will surely be excited, the unique atmosphere is very much worth it.

Concluding curiosities

• Coal was mined in the Michal mine from the depth of 960 meters.
• The largest capacity of the changing rooms was for 1512 miners, however, the number of employees fluctuated considerably and in the second half of the 20^th century, there were more than twice the amount of miners the changing rooms could facilitate.
• When the museum was founded, the creators kept to the idea not to improve or beautify anything. The area is supposed to make the visitors feel as if the miners have just left before their arrival.