Krystyna Coal Mine in Tenczynek

The Krystyna Coal Mine in Tenczynek operated in the Zwierzyniec Forest in 1895-1955 and lies on the Old Mining Trail. What remains of the mine are spoil heaps overgrown with forest, administrative buildings and traces of infrastructure, while the workings are flooded.

How the mine worked

It was opened in 1895 by the Potockis of the Krzeszowice line of the family, in the part of Tenczynek now called Niedźwiedzia Góra. The coal was called gas coal and was shipped mainly to Italy, where it was used to light streets. Shaft Krystyna I was 181 metres deep. The output was carried through an underground adit more than two kilometres long to Gwoździec, where a sorting plant and a washery were built and a railway siding was brought in.

The end of mining

In 1929, during the Great Depression, the owners halted extraction and stopped pumping out water. Krystyna II operated in the interwar period and during the occupation, and after the war it was incorporated into the Siersza mine. Extraction ended in 1955. Pumping of water from the shaft stopped in 1996, which completely flooded the mine.

What remains

Wikipedia lists administrative buildings, concrete frames of loading ramps, railway embankments and a steel bridge over the Krzeszówka in Gwoździec, used as a footbridge. The sources give no visiting rules. In the area stands Tenczyn Castle, and the Potocki family is commemorated by the Potocki Palace in Krzeszowice.

Practical information

• Location: Tenczynek, Krzeszowice municipality, Zwierzyniec Forest.
• The underground workings are flooded and inaccessible, and the rules for viewing the surface remains should be checked with the land manager.
• The mine is one of the stops on the Old Mining Trail.