The ironworking museum in Jesenice in northern Slovenia is situated in the Ruardowa graščina (the Bucelleni-Ruard Manor House), one of four ‘ironworks castles’ that were formerly the homes of the families who controlled the iron ore mines, furnaces and forges of the Sava Valley, of which two have been demolished. The house was built in 1538 by Bernardo Bucelleni, an Italian from the ironworking district of Bergamo. The family prospered, taking the German name ‘von Reichenberg’ and gaining the rank of Count in 1686. The estate passed in 1766 to Valentin Ruard from (present-day) Belgium, who restored the fortunes of the ironworks which had been in decline. His family rebuilt the manor house in the neo-classical style, and held the property until 1871, after which the house was adapted to accommodate ironworks clerks and their families. The museum, established in 1954, illustrates the iron and steel industry of the region around Jesenice, including the process of charcoal burning, the art of the blacksmith and a large-scale model of an electric arc furnace, as well as the social and cultural life of the ironworkers. Other sections display the museum’s collections of local fossils and minerals.
Slovenian Ironmaking Museum
Gornjesavski Muzej
Cesta Prešerna 45
4270 Jesenice
Slovenia
+386 (0) 4583 - 3500
Homepage