Gold mine Zloty Stok
Medals available at the entrance to the shop!
The oldest mining operations in the area of Złoty Stok date back to around 2000 BCE. From that time until today, over 300 km of adits, shafts, and tunnels have been excavated across 21 levels.
The first written record of mining activities here comes from 1273—a mining privilege granted to the Cistercian monastery in Kamieniec Ząbkowicki by Henryk IV Probus, Duke of Wrocław and Kraków. Over the centuries, the Złoty Stok mines changed hands frequently, but mining continued uninterrupted, and by the 15th century, they were among the most productive in Silesia.
During this time, the renowned Kraków sculptor Veit Stoss (Wit Stwosz) became a shareholder. The money he earned from crafting the altar of St. Mary’s Church in Kraków was supposed to multiply under the Fugger family (major shareholders), but depleting gold veins led to his bankruptcy. In desperation, Stoss forged a promissory note, for which he was imprisoned in Wrocław, tried in Nuremberg, and publicly branded on both cheeks and forehead.
The first half of the 15th century brought misfortune: the Hussite Wars (1419–1434) caused destruction and fires. Stability returned in the late 15th century, and in 1484, a Mining Office was established. By 1491, the town received its coat of arms, banner, and mining rights.
The peak of gold mining came in the early 16th century. In 1507, the ducal mint was relocated from Ząbkowice Śląskie, producing gold ducats. At its height, Złoty Stok’s 200 mines supplied 8% of Europe’s gold. However, poor safety standards led to disasters, including the collapse of the 72-meter-deep “Golden Donkey” adit in 1513, killing 59 miners—their bodies never recovered. This marked the decline of the Fuggers’ investments.
Notably, Złoty Stok’s gold played a role in world history: the Fuggers funded Queen Isabella of Spain, enabling Columbus’s voyage to America.
In 1612, the mines pioneered black powder blasting, but disasters, plagues (one claiming 1,100 lives), and the Thirty Years’ War (1618–1648) left the town in ruins. Revival came when alchemist Hans Schärffenberg developed arsenic extraction from ore, making Złoty Stok the global arsenic supplier for 100 years—until mismanagement exhausted the deposits.
Mining resumed after the Austro-Prussian Wars. In 1848, Wilhelm Güttler introduced a cheaper gold-extraction method using chlorination. His heirs modernized operations, adding an electric mine train (now displayed in the “Gertruda” adit) and a railway line (1900). The family retained ownership until 1945.
Post-WWII, the intact mine was handed to Poland. German technicians trained new workers until mining ceased abruptly in 1962—despite annual yields of 20–30 kg gold (dropping mysteriously to 7 kg in 1961). Flooding followed. Over 700 years, roughly 16 tons of gold were extracted.
After 35 years of abandonment, the “Gold Mine Underground Tourist Route” opened in 1996, featuring:
“Gertruda” Adit (with the electric train)
“Black Upper” Adit (home to Poland’s only underground waterfall, 8m tall)
“Black Lower” Adit (opened in 2008)
The mine still holds secrets: unexplored tunnels, miners’ remains, and possible Nazi-era mysteries hidden behind rockfalls…
