Idrija Municipal Museum

Idrija Municipal Museum was founded in 1953 as the Museum of Idrija and Cerkno. It is housed in Castle Gewerkenegg, which dominates the old centre of the town Idrija. Castle whose built in 16th century had been mostly a seat of management and administration for many centuries of the second largest mercury mine in the world. History of mining in Idrija dates back to year 1490. The museum’s main aim has been to preserve, present and research rich technical heritage of the mercury mine, which is of European significance, and the ethnological features of the life of miners and peasants of this region that lies on the borderline between the Karst and the pre-Alpine hills. The museum is responsible for the area's natural sights and technical, ethnological, historical and cultural monuments, as well as for the major monuments of the National Liberation War from the Second World War. At first Museum was founded to protect partisan monuments and important sites from Second World War, but was soon occupied with rich heritage of mining town of Idrija and its culture. In year 1997 Idrija Municipal Museum received the Luigi Micheletti Award, as the best European museum of the industrial and technical heritage. Museum works closely with Mercury Mine Idrija that is on the way to become UNESCO protected site as worlds technical heritage.

The central museum exhibition with the title Five Centuries of the Mercury Mine and the Town of Idrija presents the development of the town of Idrija and 500 years of second oldest and largest mercury mine in the world. Which while operating produced one eight of all mercury in the world. Exhibition is thematically divided in 11 titles, has 25 exhibition rooms covering a total area of more than 1,300 sq.m. Collection of Rocks, Fossils, Mercury Ores and Minerals, with nearly 3,000 different specimens is held to be the biggest exhibited collection of its kind in Slovenia. Documents Tell the Story and View of the Town in the front tower of the castle exhibits a selection of significant archival sources from all over Europe along with documents of the Idrija cartographers and mine maps, from the 18th and 19th centuries. Mercury Tower, is highlight of exhibition and is designed like a shaft with three levels. Each level presents different symbolic values in the work of the miner. Equipment, ways and customs before entering the shaft. Second level are work, working conditions, tools, miners at work in 17th century etc. And in the lowest part, there is treasure here hanging in the air on the iron wires, represented by 320kg transparent plexiglass cube with the drops of mercury inside. Famous Personalities, show portraits and documents relating to the activities of all those workers, intellectuals and mining experts that came to Idrija and influenced Slovene and Europe's sience and culture at large. For instance in Idrija were naturalists as Scopoli, Hacquet and Paracelsus. The process of extracting mercury and cinnabar is illustrated by the massive millstone that was used for grinding cinnabar, the clay retorts for blasting ore and original mercury scales from 1830.

A small exhibition room presents famous figures from the history of the mine and town, while another exhibition features furnishing from an early 20th century Idrija miner’s house.

The last exhibition hall presents the lively social life in the Idrija of the past. The mining operation was responsible for the establishment of several very good local schools as well as craft traditions such as lace-making. Bobbin-lace making was introduced into Slovenia from the Czech and German lands of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy more than 300 years ago, and Idrija developed its own techniques and design patterns. In 1876 a Lace School was established and its activities achieved European dimensions. A part of museum is the memorial room of Dr Aleš Bebler (1907-1981), Slovene politician, diplomat, ecologist and participant in the Spanish Civil War. There is a permanent gallery collection, donated by Idrija-born translator and Rome gallery owner Valentina Orsini Mazza, which comprises 33 paintings and prints by renowned Slovene and Italian artists. Other interesting parts of the museum include the peasant frescoes painted by itinerant folk artists. The motifs are religious and combined with decorative elements and simple ornamentation.

The museum oversees the activities of various satellites showing works which were necessary to maintain mine shafts, wood cutting and transport, the Flood Dams (Klauže) in Idria, built in 1772; the Frančišek Mine, the museum`s technical department which presents old driving and mining machines; the homestead of the Writer France Bevk; Idrija Kamšt (from the German word Wasserkunst – 'water art'), the largest wooden water wheel in Europe which pumped water from the mine from the time of the French Revolution down to 1948; an Idrija Miner's House dating from the end of the 19th century which was renovated in 1990; the Wild Lake Natural Museum, located two kilometres south of Idrija; the Franja Partisan Hospital (huge floods in September 2007 demolished the monument; repairs are underway); the Cerkno Museum; and the Partisan Printing Press 'Slovenia'. The latter is one of the best preserved monuments from the Second World War. The Printing House operated from 1944 till the end of the war, and Partizanski dnevnik ('Partisan's Daily') was the only daily newspaper in occupied Europe printed by a resistance organisation.

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Idrija Municipal Museum

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