Solivar Museum, Prešov — historic salt works

The Solivar Museum (STM – Múzeum Solivar v Prešove) is a branch of the Slovak Technical Museum in Košice, housed in the historic salt works on the south-eastern edge of Prešov. The whole complex is a national cultural monument and one of the most valuable technical monuments in Slovakia: it is the only preserved above-ground ensemble of buildings for pumping brine and boiling salt from it in the country.

The salt springs at the foot of the Slanské vrchy were already used in the 11th century, and the name Solivar comes from them. Salt was extracted on the land of the former village of Soľná Baňa, which later merged with Šváby and Solivar into one municipality; since 1971 Solivar has been part of Prešov. Between 1572 and 1752 the Habsburgs mined rock salt here in deep shafts as well as using brine; the best known shaft is Leopold, 155 m deep. On the night of 20–21 February 1752 water flooded the shaft and the works switched to boiling salt from brine. In the early 19th century the František (1800) and Ferdinand (1806) boiling houses were built, together with new brine tanks, the Salt Store and a floating canal used to bring firewood to the furnaces. The František boiling house operated continuously until 1970.

What to see

• The Gápeľ above the Leopold shaft – an ingenious horse-driven winding device for pumping brine and a structure of European importance; inside you can see the huge wooden mechanism once turned by teams of horses.
• Četerne – gigantic wooden brine tanks from 1815, originally assembled without a single nail.
• The František boiling house with its large pans where salt was boiled; it holds the permanent exhibition "History of Salt Mining and Production in Solivar" and an exhibition on Štefan Butkovič, founder of technical museology in Slovakia. You will also learn about the famous Soľná Baňa bobbin lace here.
• The Salt Store – the most striking, late Baroque building of the complex, with a tower and clock, reconstructed after a fire in 1986. Inside are the "Royal Chamber", wooden models of the works' buildings and an exhibition on the new President Masaryk salt plant.
• Nearby stand the bell tower that called miners to their shifts, the engine house (the town's first power station), smithies and a round water reservoir.

Every year the museum hosts the European Night of Museums, Salt Day and Christmas at the Museum, and every two years an international bobbin-lace festival.

Practical information

The museum opens from Tuesday to Saturday with fixed entry times; a full ticket for the large circuit costs €10 and for the small circuit €4 (schedule and all prices in the "At a glance" box). Tickets are sold in the Salt Store on Námestie osloboditeľov, right next to the "Múzeum Solivar" city bus stop. The large circuit lasts 90 minutes: with the guide you walk 700 m uphill to the Gápeľ, and in Četerne you climb several wooden ladders and stairs; altogether it is 1.4 km of walking through the streets of a living neighbourhood, so it is recommended for children from 6 and visitors in reasonable shape. The small circuit – 30 minutes in the Salt Store – is easy and accessible to disabled visitors. Groups of 15 or more must book in advance.

Nearby: trails and peaks

Solivar lies at the foot of the Slanské vrchy: the long ridge route Prešov, Za kalváriou – Slovenské Nové Mesto passes right next to it, so the museum combines well with a walk onto the first hills. About 11 km west of the town rise the ruins of Šariš Castle near Prešov, one of the largest castles in Slovakia, with a wide view over the Šariš region.

Official website: stm-ke.sk

Photos: Infitter, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons; Jozef Kotulič, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons; Ing.Mgr.Jozef Kotulič, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons; Ing. Mgr. Jozef Kotulič, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons; Jozef Kotulič, CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons.