Excursion to the most historically important
Czech gold mine

The Jílové Gold Mines are historically the most important source of gold in the Czech lands. The wealth generated by these mines helped finance the construction of magnificent buildings, churches and entire districts of medieval Prague.

In 2013, Montanika took over the rights and responsibilities for a group of historic mining works in the main part of the Jílové gold mining district. The first stage of the restoration involved a year and a half of work to reconstruct the initial 200 metres of the Václav adit. This was followed by securing 1,300 metres of the drainage adit, removing decades of accumulated deposits, replacing 500 metres of wooden walkways inside the water adit and restoring a further 500 metres of the underground railway leading to the Pepř shaft.

Subsequent work focused mainly on the area around the shaft station and on reopening the passages and mining chambers along the legendary Šlojíř vein, once the richest source of gold in Jílové. After several years devoted primarily to restoration, we began upgrading the mine's technical facilities. A compressor was installed to demonstrate the operation of historic compressed air machinery, while the accessible underground spaces, including areas beneath the water surface, were illuminated to provide visitors with a truly unique experience.

Although much work still lies ahead, we are encouraged by the positive response from visitors, mining specialists and representatives of the town of Jílové u Prahy. Our long term goal is to make the entire mining complex accessible through several different tour routes, allowing visitors to experience the development of gold mining techniques from the Middle Ages to the twentieth century.

One of our newest attractions features the Czech Republic's first underground mine via ferrata. This exciting route takes you through remarkable mining chambers dating back to the reign of Charles IV, where you will see stalactites that glow under ultraviolet light and explore enormous stopes where impressive pieces of gold were once discovered. The adventure concludes with a descent by ladders and stairways through the historic workings before returning to the Václav adit.