Sights in Idrija
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Municipal Museum
The excellent Municipal Museum is housed in the enormous Gewerkenegg Castle on top of the hill to the west of Mestni trg. The collections, which deal with mercury, lace and local history, are exhibited in three wings centred on a courtyard. The rococo frescoes of plants, scrolls and columns framing the windows and arcades date from the 18th century.
Mercury (Hg) is the only metal that exists in a liquid state at room temperature. The silvery metal is extracted from the mercury ore - a bright-red mineral called cinnabar - by smelting at a high temperature. Mercury is a very heavy metal, much denser than iron, and in the castle's north wing, amid a jungle of minerals and fo…
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Anthony Mine Shaft
The Anthony Mine Shaft, a 'living museum' in the Šelštev building south of Trg Svetega Ahacija, allows you to get a feeling for the working conditions of mercury miners in Idrija.
The tour, lasting about 1¼ hours, begins in the 'call room' of an 18th-century building where miners were selected each morning and assigned their duties by the obergutman (supervisor). There's an excellent 20-minute video in several languages (including English) describing the history of Idrija and the mine.
Before entering the shaft, which was sunk in 1500 and led to the first mine measuring 1.5km long, 600m wide and 400m deep, you must don green overcoats and helmets with the miners' insi…
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Kamšt
One of the most interesting examples of mining technology that still exists is the Kamšt, a 13.6m water wheel made of wood that was used to pump the water out of flooded mines from 1790 until 1948. It is about 1.5km southeast of Mestni trg.
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Magazin
In Trg Svetega Ahacija - the centre of town in the Middle Ages - the large 18th-century building on the north side is the Magazin, a granary and warehouse where the miners, who were paid in food as well as in cash, kept their stores.
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Miners' Houses
Laid out across the slopes encircling the valley are Idrija's distinctive Miners' Houses. Large wooden A-frames with cladding and dozens of windows, they usually had four storeys with living quarters for three or four families.
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Chapel of the Holy Trinity
The 18th-century Chapel of the Holy Trinity in the Anthony Mine Shaft contains statues of St Barbara, the patroness of miners, and St Ahacius, on whose feast day (22 June) rich deposits of cinnabar were discovered.
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Idrija Lace-Making School
To the west of Mestni trg is the Idrija Lace-Making School in the Stara Šola (Old School), built in 1876. Lace-making is still a popular elective course of study in elementary schools in Idrija.
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Maria Theresa Theatre
To the east of Trg Svetega Ahacija is the Maria Theresa Theatre, built in 1770 and the oldest in the country.
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Town Hall
There are several fine neoclassical buildings on Mestni trg, including the Town Hall, built in 1898.
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