Planá Mining Museum

The mining museum in the historic town of Planá (also called Planá u Mariánských Lázní) tells the story of mining in western Bohemia since the 16th century for silver, lead, copper, cobalt, nickel, antimony and uranium. The Ondřej Šlik adit, where the museum in located, was dug at the end of the 16th century and continued until the late 20th century. The Šliks also had a mint for making coinage in the centre of Planá. The displays are in a museum building and the underground workings. They show samples of minerals, coins made from metals mined locally, safety equipment, working tools and mining lamps. Visitors to the underground workings walk through original rock-cut tunnels with timber props along the mineral railway with its locomotives and wagons. Separate displays explain the history of uranium mining in the region in the 20th century. The museum is run by a local mining history association begun in 1995.