1 Museum of Ore and Mineral Mining, Collection of History of

Museum of Ore and Mineral Mining, Collection of History of Industry in Telkibánya
Localization: Telkibánya, Múzeum st. 15.
GPS coordinates: N 48° 29,093’; E 21° 21,833’ ;
266 m above see level;
Age: beginning of 16th century;
Current status: The museum is open between the 1st of April and the 31st of October. It is
open for groups at any other date as well, based on prior agreement with the staff.
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Description:
Museum of Ore and Mineral Mining, Collection of History of Industry in Telkibánya
The collection of History of Industry in Telkibánya opened its gates in 1970 as an initiation
from the Museum of Ore and Mineral Mining in Rudabánya. It used the building of the
former porcelain factory, which was donated for this purpose by the Kádár family. The
collection shows the history of precious ore mining in Telkibánya in 6 rooms. Beside this, it
also includes the mineral mining of Tokaj-Hegyalja, the famous Telkibánya pottery, the
forestry of Tokaj-Eperjes mountains, some of the most beautiful minerals of Hungary and a
memorial room of the donating Kádár family.
Pottery collection
Products of the first porcelain factory of Hungary are displayed in the first room. These are
the most valuable part of the collection. Followed by the encouragement of Count Széchenyi
István and despite of the law from Vienna prohibiting factory foundation, Prince
Bretzeinheim founded a porcelain factory in 1825, which uses the kaolin found during the
ore exploratory works. Later the factory changed its production to stoneware and its high
quality products were known abroad as well. Due to growing competition and unfavourable
transport conditions, the factory ceased production in 1907. The collection has a complete
set of the famous Telkibányai and Regéci pottery.
Mining collection
The next room displays objects of precious ore mining of the medieval mining settlement,
Telkibánya. The first written data of Telkibánya is from 1270, where King V. István mentions
the name. King Károly Róbert determines its boundaries in 1341 and declares it as a royal
mine camp. King Nagy Lajos granted it (named Teluky at that time) with mining settlement
rights in 1344. It was in its glory in the age of King Zsigmond, when it was mentioned as a
settlement fortified with walls and bastions.
Telkibánya was a member of the Alliance of Upper Hungarian Mining Settlements (FelsőMagyarországi Bányavárosok Szövetsége), founded in 1487. The ore mining has lost its
importance, and the city has lost its “mining settlement” estate when the veins got explored,
the mining had to drift deeper and then after the discovery of America the precious metal
prices dropped.
The medieval mining methods of Telkibánya are explained by dioramas, where miniature
sequences show all medieval mining techniques and machines minified proportionally. This
way the visitor can get picture how the exploitation, stoping, heading, ventilation, mineral
processing etc. was done centuries ago.
Exhibition shows the old miner tools, the instruments of lighting, mine-measuring, old
pictures, maps and documents.
The Kádár Family exhibition room
This exhibition displays the personal objects and awards of the Kádár family. The members
were chaplain or educator and had been collecting the vestiges, documents and objects of
Telkibánya throughout years and gave all their possessions to Telkibánya in their will. The
most outstanding was Kádár Sarolta, the last member of the family, who was awarded
several times for her work in collecting and systematizing ethnographic data.
Forestry collection
Forestry and mining has been connected since ancient times in the surroundings of
Telkibánya. The collection displays the natural values, animal and plant species of this
beautiful area of Hungary in three dioramas. These include wild boar, badger, zemplén viper
amongst several reptiles, raven, snipe, the colorful kingfisher and several mushroom species.
There are description and photographs of the history of forestry. A part of the exhibition
explains the most important tree species of the area with real trunk pieces and drawn leaves
and flowers.
Ethnographic collection
Ethnogrpahic objects, household equipment more than a hundred years old from Telkibánya
are displayed in a smaller room. There are precious folkweave, embroided table-cloth,
stitched dish-towel, similar to which are still used in the village. An interesting part of this
collection shows the typical wooden headstone found in the fortified church cemetery.
These headstones belong to the group of columnar-notchy headstones and kept their shape
for centuries. They are called speaking headstones as well, because it is easy to tell the
gender, age, family status and the relation of the person to the village community based on
their shape and notches.
Mineral collection
A mineral collection in a separate room shows the typical, interesting and beautiful minerals
of Hungary. There is a separate display for various calcite and aragonite formations. The
other glass-cases exhibit all the ores and minerals and special crystals mined in Hungary.
There are all the typical minerals of Telkibánya from amber-opal to native silver and gold,
minerals of the surrounding, opals, chalcedony, semi-precious gems, decorational items
made of these and fossils of plants and animals. The mineral collection is donation of a
private collector.
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Museum building and museum ground
The building is one of the oldest in Telkibánya. It was built in the beginning of 16th century. It
is shown as a Macellum, food storage for miners on a Szartori-map from 1774. After the
ceasing of mining Prince Bretzenheim extended the building and established the first
porcelain factory of Hungary in 1825. After the factory stopped production, the building in
ruins was bought by the Kádár family, who turned it into a dwelling-house. They later
donated it to the village for the purpose of a museum. There is a coffee-bar in the beautifully
arched basement.
The only millstone park of Central-Europe is found in the museum ground, which shows all
types of medieval and modern ore grinding millstones used in Telkibánya. An interesting
spectacle of the ground is a wooden sculpture group of a tree of life and several miners. A
beautifully located outdoor stage, cut in the hillside with a marvelous panorama is built on
the foundations of the kiln of the old porcelain factory. The memorial adit and the
connecting shaft with puppets of miners and a mine-gnome evoke the spirit of the old
mining works.
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Museum of Ore and Mineral Mining,
Collection of History of Industry in
Telkibánya has a beatiful environment.
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Its Internet Cafe.
The building of the Museum was miner's
food warehouse in the XVIII. century, than
Porcelain and Stoneware Factory in the
20th century, this can be seen on the
model.
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The postcard from the begining of the 20th
century shows the Porcelain and
Stoneware Factory.
The signs of the Telkibánya stoneware
In the museum models explain the history
of the town and mining
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'Patience-bottle'
The model of the XVIII. century Konczfalva
by István Benke
The technological layout of the medieval
gold mining of Telkibánya by István Benke
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The ground of the Museum
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St. Katalin memorial adit
Life size model of a medieval winding-shaft
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Grindstones of the amalgamating-mill