Kutna Hora - "the city of silver" - in the literal and figurative sense of the word grew on this metal. It began to be mined here in 985, but by the beginning of the 14th century the city was completely and completely captured by the extraction of precious metal. The mine was excavated a great many, and there were even more miners in the city. At the turn of the 13th and 14th centuries, more than 50 kg of pure silver were mined daily in Kutna Hora

The Silver Museum is occupied by the old fortified castle Hradek . Originally, Hradek was wooden and built exclusively for protection . Later it was converted into an apartment castle , changed many hosts and by the end of the 15th century acquired characteristic Gothic features, and also the nickname "small castle" . Hradek itself is already worth a look: on the walls one can see medieval frescoes, the ceiling of the central hall is beautifully painted in the 15th century, as well as The vaults of the chapel, which appeared at the at the turn of the 15th and 16th centuries . And in the windows of Hradek today there are small figures of miners .

From the main exposition of the museum one can learn a lot about the history of the city and the extraction of ore. Here are exhibited geological, archaeological, ethnographic exhibits, as well as a collection of numismatics. The ground floor is dedicated to the geology of the Kutna Hora area and archaeological evidence relating to the prehistoric period and the early Middle Ages, even before the foundation of the city. In another room, it was demonstrated how quickly the city began to develop after the silver was found here.

One storey above the visitors is an exposition in which Kutna Hora appears as a rich and important city. Here you can learn about the life of the "silver" nobility and the role that Kutna Hora played in the Czech Republic. The exposition includes objects of everyday life, costumes, household utensils and art objects. A separate hall is dedicated to coinage minting

Before going down to the mine you will see a large lift that worked on a horse-drawn rider . Here two horses pulled the weight up to a ton from a depth of 200 m . Then the tourists get white jackets, helmets and lanterns . Then they go underground and start a journey through the galleries . Someone may think it is not very pleasant: the ground is quite cold, here and there the ceiling hangs very low, and somewhere the course becomes very narrow . @ During the excursion, visitors go down to a depth of 50 m . Here you learn how in the Middle Ages we extracted ore, how metal was obtained from it, and then coins were minted . In the mine till now one can see the original tools of miners .

At the exit of the visitors' shaft the third small part of the museum is waiting: the exposition " The Mining Settlement. " The exposition can also be viewed from outside, from the garden of Hradek. Here you will see wooden huts, wheeled crusher for ore, smelting equipment and figures of miners and their home

Practical information

Address: Barborska, 28/9.

Opening Hours: April, October: 9:00 - 17:00, May-June, September: 9:00 - 18:00, July-August: 10:00 - 18:00, November: 10:00 - 16:00 (only on weekends). On Monday the museum does not work.

Entrance: with excursion "Silver City" for adults: 60 CZK, for children and students: 30 CZK; with the excursion "Silver road" for adults: 110 CZK, for children and students: 70 CZK; both excursions for adults: 130 CZK, for children and students: 80 CZK (December 2014)

Duration of the excursion "City of silver" - about an hour, "Silver road" - about 1, 5 hours. The latter are conducted only in good weather. Descent into the mine for children under 7 years is prohibited.