Jeroným Mine

Jeroným Mine near the vanished village of Čistá is one of the most valuable mining monuments in West Bohemia. It lies by Podstrání in the municipality of Rovná and recalls the period when the Slavkov Forest lived from tin mining. This is not a modern mine with smooth, regular tunnels, but an authentic historic underground system where traces of 16th-century miners' work are still legible.

The Jeroným tin mine was already recorded by the mining authority in 1548. In 1551, King Ferdinand I granted Čistá mining law and the privileges of a royal mining town. The town had its own tin weigh house, smelter and mining rights. Jeroným Mine was not as rich as the better-known districts around Krásno and Horní Slavkov, but precisely because of that, many of its spaces survived in an exceptionally original form.

Underground Tour

The central part of the mine contains impressive chambers from the 16th century. In places, the walls and ceilings are blackened by soot from the old extraction method known as fire-setting. Miners heated the rock with fire and then broke it apart with hand tools. Grooves left by picks and hammers are still visible on the walls, so the visit gives a vivid sense of the physical demands of historic mining.

Tours are guided and work well even for visitors who do not usually seek out technical monuments. The mine is also a powerful place for understanding the mining landscape of the Slavkov Forest: around Čistá, Krásno and Horní Slavkov, the story of tin, the Dlouhá stoka water channel, vanished settlements and post-mining landscape change all meet.

Practical Information

The mine is open seasonally. Guided tours usually run from 1 May to 15 October, starting at 10:00, 11:00, 13:00, 14:00, 15:00 and 16:00. The underground is cold, around 10 °C, and the route can be wet or muddy, so sturdy footwear and warmer clothing are useful.

Contacts and How to Get There

• Official website: Muzeum Sokolov - Důl Jeroným
• Address: Podstrání 13, 356 01 Rovná
• GPS: 50.102158, 12.712039
• Phone: +420 736 202 710
• E-mail: jeronym@muzeum-sokolov.cz