Tajchs of Banská Štiavnica

Another jewel among technical monuments is hidden in central Slovakia near town Banska Stiavnica. Tajchs( Slovak:Tajchy, from German teich) are artificial water reservoirs in the Štiavnica Mountains. Most of them were built in order to provide energy for the silver mines of Banská Štiavnica in the 18th century. At their height, tajchy comprised a sophisticated system of 60 reservoirs, connected to each other by more than 100 km of channels and underground tunnels. Some of the lakes still exist and are used only for recreational purpose. Because of their historical value, tajchy were proclaimed by the UNESCO to be a World Heritage Site.
How it worked: In the 18th century, tajchs formed probably the most perfect water management system in Europe. In overall, they were able to collect 7 millions of cubic metres of water and distribute it to the places where it was necessary. The water was used for driving underground water pumps and machinery for processing iron ore, were the ore was crushed and washed. Residual water was used to drive mills.

The water in a tajch was lead away by an underground tunnel; a “stopper” was controlled from a little hut built on a dam of the tajch, called “monk”. As there wasn’t any abundant stream in the area, tajchs were filled by rain water, collected by tens of kilometres of ditches. The technical solution of the complex structures still standing, as well as their management, deserve our admiration.

Building the dam required simultaneous work of hundreds, even thousands of men and women. They had to bring earth to the place and the dam was trampled by flocks of sheep shepherded there. The energy base of this system gave rise to the mining draining machinery, which became a model for other mining regions in the world.

Accommodation: There is a number of possibillities ranging from low- cost options such as hostels up to a high standard accomodation