An interesting and fun idea for a weekend break in Poland – UNESCO World Heritage Site with underground tourist routes. You can visit Historic Silver Mine and take a boat cruise through an underground tunnel. Both attractions are located in the town of Tarnowskie Góry, in the south of Poland.

In 2017, the mine in Tarnowskie Góry, along with the underground water management system, was entered into the UNESCO World Heritage List (more on UNESCO’s website). UNESCO recognizes “a monumental underground water management system that reflects a 300-year ingenious development of hydraulic engineering (…) Water Management System provides exceptional testimony to outstanding human technical creativity and application. It represents a masterpiece of mid-sixteenth to late-nineteenth century underground hydraulic engineering“.

Jump to how to get to the town of Tarnowskie Góry by train, by car, by plane
Jump to the Black Trout Adit: underground tourist route – sightseeing by boats
Jump to the Historic Silver Mine: museum, an underground route with boats, ride on a little train in the Open Air Museum of Steam Machines

How to get to the town of Tarnowskie Góry by train, by car, by plane

Both the mine and its underground water management system are located in the town of Tarnowskie Góry. It is a town in southern Poland, in the Silesian Province. Tarnowskie Góry’s location on Google map.

Please note that these are two separate attractions, located in different places of the town of Tarnowskie Góry (details about their locations can be found below).

How to get there by car

Approximate (depending on traffic) travel time by car to the town of Tarnowskie Góry from: Warsaw 3 hrs 10 mins, Kraków 1 hr 40 mins, Poznań 3 hrs 50 mins, Gdańsk 5 hrs, Łódź 2 hrs 15 mins, Katowice 35 mins, Lublin 4 hrs 40 mins.

How to get there by train

The railway station in Tarnowskie Góry on Google map and train timetable.
Approximate travel time by trains to the town of Tarnowskie Góry from: Warsaw 3 hrs 20 mins (including 1 change), Kraków 1 hrs 50 mins (including 1 change), Poznań 4 hrs (including 1 change), Gdańsk 6 hrs 30 mins (including 1 change), Łódź 3 hrs 10 mins (including 2 changes), Katowice 45 mins (direct), Lublin 5 hrs 50 mins (including 1 change).

How to get to there by plain

The closest airport to the town of Tarnowskie Góry is the international airport in the city of Katowice.
Katowice international airport (location on Google map, website in English) is located in Pyrzowice, 30 km north of the city of Katowice, the capital of the Silesian Voivodeship.
The airport is located 25 km/30-minute drive from the town of Tarnowskie Góry.

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The Black Trout Adit: underground tourist route – sightseeing by boats

The Black Trout Adit (in Polish: Sztolnia Czarnego Pstrąga) offers the longest underground tourist route in Poland, through which tourists travel by boats – cruises through a narrow underground tunnel built in the 19th century to drain water from nearby mines.
It’s located in the town of Tarnowskie Góry, in a park (Park w Reptach i Dolina Dramy). Location on Google map.
Access from ul. Repecka Street (there is a free parking lot, location on Google map).
A 600-meter-long underground section between the Ewa shaft and the Sylwester shaft is open to the public. The tours start from one of these two shafts. Tourists are advised to go directly to the Sylwester shaft where the tourist service point is located (there you will get information about the starting point of the tour – Ewa or Sylwester shaft). It takes about 10 minutes to walk from the car park to the shaft.
The guide leads tourists down the shaft (the stairs, no lift) to the boats in which visitors swim and listen to the guide, when they reach the second shaft they go up the stairs.
The minimum age for children is 4 years.
Sightseeing takes place in groups with a guide in Polish.
You can buy tickets online (select Sztolnia Czarnego Pstrąga) and skip the line or on-site (you can pay with a card).
To book an English-speaking guide, send an email in English or Polish to the following address:
rezerwacje@kopalniasrebra.pl. There is an additional cost for an English-speaking guide.
Sightseeing takes place in underground corridors located 30 meters below the surface of the earth. Please note that the descent and exit from the underground are done by winding stairs.
Depending on the season, it is worth taking warmer clothes – it is cool underground (there is a constant temperature of approx. 10°C/50°F).
Duration of the tour: 60 minutes.
The route is not available for disabled people.
The route is not suitable for sightseeing with a pram.
Note for people with claustrophobia – the route runs along narrow corridors.
More about the tours.
The tourist offer also includes swimming, for visitors aged 16+ (details).
The place is located in the park, so you can take a walk after sightseeing.

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Historic Silver Mine: museum, an underground route with boats, ride on a little train in the Open Air Museum of Steam Machines

The Historic Silver Mine (in Polish: Zabytkowa Kopalnia Srebra) is located in the town of Tarnowskie Góry. Location on Google map.
The underground tourist route is 1740 m long – it is a 40-meter-deep (there is an elevator) labyrinth of corridors, a remnant of a former silver-lead-zinc mine. The underground tour includes a boat trip on the underground river (a 270-meter long section of the river). The tour also includes a multimedia exhibition in the mine building.
Sightseeing takes place in groups with a guide in Polish. Meeting point: the main hall of the mine building, at the stairs leading to the museum.
To book an English-speaking guide, send an email in English or Polish to the following address:
rezerwacje@kopalniasrebra.pl. There is an additional cost for an English-speaking guide
No age restrictions for children.
You can buy tickets online (select Zabytkowa Kopalnia Srebra) and skip the line or on-site (you can pay with a card).
Depending on the season, it is worth taking warmer clothes – it is cool underground (there is a constant temperature of approx. 10°C/50°F).
Duration of the tour: 100 minutes.
The route is not available for disabled people.
The route is not suitable for sightseeing with a pram.
Note for people with claustrophobia – the route runs along narrow corridors.
The lowest mining corridor – part of the sightseeing route – is approx. 140 cm high.
There is a restaurant, souvenir shop and free parking lot in the mine.
More about the tours.
Next to the mine, there is the Open Air Museum of Steam Machines. In the spring and summer season, you can ride a small train around the museum (route length: 500 m) – a nice attraction for children.

Photo source: Stowarzyszenie Miłośników Ziemi Tarnogórskiej, Agnieszka Draus, Sławek Klyczka, Grzegorz Rudnicki, Piotr Korab

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UNESCO World Heritage Site in Poland: Historic Silver Mine & underground routes

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