the well-supported corridor of the Santa Barbara mine in Rude
It is still raining. The idea to spend a day walking – I wouldn’t want to equate our strolls through nature to hiking – in the Žumberak Samoborsko Gorje, a national park just across the border in Croatia, was suddenly a lot less attractive than it seemed when planning our trip.
window in the village of Rude
However, in the region there is one attraction ‘indoors’, and that is the Santa Barbara mine in the village of Rude (also Croatia). This former copper and iron-ore mine, possibly already active in Roman times, was first mentioned in 1481, and apparently was at its most successful, in the 16th C. Later it apparently became the largest of its kind in the entire Habsburg empire. Mining continued all the way to 1959, when it was closed. But with enthusiasm and EU funding the mine was opened again in 2012, as a tourist attraction, and now there is a 350 m tunnel connecting several of the older shafts. An entertaining excursion, which kept us off the street, and out of the rain for a while. Interestingly, the first miners were actually imported Germans, from Saxony, which I remember was also the case with the mining complex near and under the town of Banska Stiavnica, in Slovakia.
the mine entrance, with guide and one other miner
actually, walking the mine is a piece of cake
comfortable stairs to the next mining level
an old shaft, collapsed
and this is what it is all about, iron ore
the corridor at the end of the mine, still well supported
After the mine we went to search for the traditional rudarska greblica pastry, a miner’s delight filled with cheese, spinach or walnuts, in Rude. But we failed, Saturday afternoon the village is abandoned, shops and eateries closed. So we drive on to Zagreb.
helmets on, in case of falling rocks – or rather, in the event of not bending down enough and running into a low shaft ceiling!
Nice picture😜😜
of the mine shaft, you mean?