The exhibition focuses on a unique work from the late 1930s, the result of a joint effort by historian Józef Piernikarczyk, foreman Alfons Kopia and painter Józef Machwic. The map depicts the centuries-old legacy of Tarnowskie Góry's mining industry, the beauty and cultural richness of the area - both in the underground layer of the old galleries, tunnels and shafts, which were no longer exploited, and in the above-ground layer - the world of forests, rivers and in between: the town, villages, steelworks, roads and railway lines. It was intended that this underground heritage should be preserved and made famous to tourists, who were already flocking to the city in increasing numbers to visit the old mines. In this respect, the map is an innovative way of viewing the mining legacy of Tarnowskie Góry no longer in industrial terms, but in historical and tourist terms. Despite an attempt to establish a mining museum as early as in the inter-war period, these plans were not realised until after the war with the establishment of the Association of Lovers of the Tarnogórska Region, whose first president was Alfons Kopia. The opening of the Black Trout Adit, the Historic Silver Mine and the inscription of Tarnogórska's mining monuments on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2017 allowed for a new interpretation of the city's post-industrial heritage, the potential of which had already been recognised by the makers of the map. Among these reinterpretations, further works of painting inspired by the Tarnowskie Góry underground were also created, examples of which are presented in the exhibition. The map is also linked to the very beginnings of the Tarnowskie Góry Museum, which was established in 1958 - it was among the first exhibits donated by the Tarnogórska Land Lovers Association.

Conducting: Rafał Ludwikowski - curator in the History Department of the Tarnowskie Góry Museum. Graduated in history with a specialisation in archaeology at the University of Opole and postgraduate studies in museology at the Jagiellonian University. Participant in the archaeological excavations in Ryczyn carried out by the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Wrocław and the University of Opole, author of publications and museum exhibitions on the history of Tarnowskie Góry, including Freemasonry, the visit of John III Sobieski, the period of the Silesian Uprisings and the plebiscite, and World War II.

Number of places limited

We reserve the right to change the date or cancel the event