Mining Museum in Rožňava and the Sentinel Experience Centre

The Mining Museum in Rožňava (Banícke múzeum v Rožňave) is the main museum of Gemer, an old region of mines and smelters in the south of the Slovak Ore Mountains. It was founded in 1902 on the initiative of a mining and metallurgical society, with support from the town and donations from Františka and Dionýz Andrássy; the idea came from Gustáv Eisele, director of the mines at Železník. A purpose-built museum building designed by Alexander Müller, director of the Rožňava mines, went up in 1905, and the first exhibition on mining, metallurgy and mineralogy opened in 1912. It is the oldest building in Central Europe erected specifically for a mining and metallurgical museum.

A town museum was also founded in 1912, and the two institutions later merged. Wars interrupted their work: part of the collections was stolen and the building was used for other purposes until 1956. The museum grew most in 1974–1985, when new buildings and exhibitions were added. In 2015–2017 the main complex on Šafárikova Street was reconstructed and turned into the Sentinel Experience Centre (Zážitkové centrum Sentinel).

What to see

• The Gemer Mining and Metallurgy Exhibition – the history of mining from prehistory to the present: early tools, transport, surveying instruments and miners' lamps, geological and archaeological finds, the daily life of miners and a technical copy of the medieval Metercia panel painting.
• "The Age of Steam" – a Škoda Sentinel steam lorry (one of three preserved in the former Czechoslovakia) and an Aveling & Porter steam roller from 1883, the third oldest in the world. This hall is accessible to people with reduced mobility.
• The "Mine Transport" circuit – a working model of an aerial ropeway, a 3D map of Gemer and, in the courtyard, a mine-train ride straight into a diorama of the Alexander gallery with footage from an old film. Mine locomotives, tubs, winches and loaders are displayed around it, and the cellars hold mine workings with different types of support.
• The Slovak Karst Nature Exhibition in a 1904 building ("Františka's Shelter") – plants and animals arranged by habitat, the geology of the Spiš-Gemer Ore Mountains and the Karst, and mineral resources.
• The Historical Exhibition (Šafárikova 31) in the Neoclassical building of the former Marko leather manufactory (1782) – over 6,000 objects of domestic culture, ethnography, numismatics, crafts and arms, grouped by material; an audio guide is available.

The museum also has a gallery on Mining Square and regularly holds temporary exhibitions.

Practical information

All the buildings stand close together on Šafárikova Street, a few minutes' walk from the main square; there is a bus stop called "Rožňava, Banícke múzeum" next to the Sentinel Centre. The centre admits visitors from Tuesday to Saturday in guided groups (up to 20 people, tour up to 1 hour 15 minutes); a full ticket costs €10 and a family ticket €20 (all prices and the schedule in the "At a glance" box). The Historical Exhibition and the gallery open on weekdays and accept cash only. The mine train runs from April to September, so families with children are best off coming in the warm season. Allow 2–2.5 hours for the centre and the Historical Exhibition together.

Nearby: trails and peaks

Rožňava is a hub of waymarked paths: from the town start the Pavol Jozef Šafárik Trail: Rožňava – Nálepkovo heading north into the Ore Mountains and Rožňava – Silica heading south onto the Slovak Karst plateau. Six kilometres to the north stands Betliar Manor House, the seat of the same Andrássy family that supported the founding of the museum.

Official website: banmuz.sk

Photos: Ladislav Luppa, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons.