Mining

Historical mining technology

The collection contains objects documenting the development of mining technology as well as procedures and activities of mining raw materials from the primeval times till today. The Middle Ages are represented by a collection of mining tools – pick axes, mallets, iron pieces, sledges, original troughs, tallow lamps, chains, ladders, etc.

The early Modern Era is represented by lamps, tools and components of mining machines (e.g. parts of pumping equipment). A large collection is devoted to models of mining equipment predominantly made on the basis of historical drawings in the works of mining scholars G.Agricola, L.Ercker, etc. (for instance, winches, various types of pumps, ore grinders, horse-gears, models of landscape with mining works, etc.).

An important part of the fund is represented by mining technology of the 19th and early 20th centuries – various types of miners' lamps, tools (hammers, axes, scrapers, drills and others), accessories of miner's outfit (aprons, helmets, working suits). The collection includes also objects associated with mining ethnography.

The collection of mining rescue documents the development of this discipline since the first instruments facilitating rescue of miners' lives (respiration apparatuses, mask, etc.) in the second half of 19th century. It is located within the exhibition of the District Mining Rescue Station Ostrava-Radvanice.

In 1955, a significant fund was taken over from the East- Bohemian Coal Mines. The collection represents with its objects not only mining in East Bohemia, but in its completeness it documents the situation in the whole republic since the mid-19th century.

In the underground of the National Technical Museum there is a replica of the coal and ore mine (from the early 50s) in the scale 1:1 which contains a large collection of mining machines and equipment.

Contemporary mining

This exhibition contains mainly documents of the development of damping in mines according to the energetic policy of the state (e.g. documents of exhibition activities organized under the auspices of the Czech Power Engineering Plants), materials on activities of more important institutions connected with mining, on museums and exhibitions oriented on mining, on social and economic aspects of contemporary mining or current mining technology. The fund is an integral part of the collections and contains information associated with the collection objects (e.g. technical documentation of exhibits – electric mining machine, drilling set, preparation equipment).

Geology and mineralogy

A part of the collection is exhibited in the Museum. It contains hundreds of mineral samples. For instance, the collection contains all minerals that have been mined on the territory of former Czechoslovakia during ages, but also ores of non-ferrous metals, various types of processed coal, paleobotanic exhibits, etc. The preparation of non-ferrous metals is concentrated in the collection of non-iron metallurgy. The collection also documents production, processing and testing of gold and silver. Models demonstrating preparation of these raw materials are included within the collection Historical mining technology.

The collections of the mining department include also a partially processed fund of the technology ceramics production (with examples of products) and soil-science documentation.

Geophysics

Geophysics is represented mainly by two-dimensional documentation and a developmental series of outfit of the gravimetric laboratory from Pribram underground mines.

Diving

The diving file contains collection objects and written documents of the development of sporting as well as professional diving (particularly from the period of 50s to 70s of this century). The collection shows different types of flippers, respiration apparatuses, respiration tubes, mouthpieces, dresses, masks, underwater lamps, diver's helmets, weights, depth gauges and three diving cabins. The collection includes also older objects – i.a. diving suit with copper helmet, weight boots, phone station and unique apparatus for swimming just under the water surface from the period between the Wars.

Photographic documentation and literature on mining history

Photographs from this collection as well as three- dimensional exhibits in other funds document the development of mining, illustrate raw material extraction since the medieval times, changes in technology as well as in miners' life, development of mining dresses, vistas of mining towns, industrial architecture, old mining works, portraits of distinguished engineers and mining scholars, views of different expositions and exhibitions oriented on mining not only in the National Technical Museum, and additional documentation illustrating the field development. The literature files comprise written works on mining and thus complete the files of Archive and Library of the National Technical Museum. They contain firms' literature, textbooks, mining journals, scientific papers, books and reprints of works of distinguished Czech scholars (e.g. Dr. Jiri Majer, Jindrich Ladislav Barvir, Jan Koran, Jiri Schenk, and others).