The Dark of the Mine is the journey to deepest and rawest regions of Guido Coal Mine. The tour guide will take you to 355 level and the last active longwall, mined in the second half of the 20th century. You will see the coal mine preserved in the state it was left by miners over twenty years ago.
Be ready!
We recommend the Dark of the Mine tour for the people who are physically fit. The passage degree difficulty is similar with mountain rages outing. We also recommend trekking shoes and the proper clothing for sightseeing of the raw mine (possibility to get dirty). The temperature on the route is more or less 20 degrees of Celsius.
Sightseeing
Ride down with the elevator, one and a half kilometre through mining galleries, steep dip-headings, raises, tight passages – this is the scenery on the 355 level. You will be accompanied by chain conveyors, pipelines used for pumping the filling and a mass of mining steel. Over your head you will see stone-dust barriers which were used to protect the other part of the mine from coal dust explosion. The tour guide will tell you the most interesting stories connected to coal mining and underground work of miners. You will learn how much effort it takes to mine in darkness and dustiness.
Longwall
The main point of the 355 level is a tight passage through very steep and over one hundred metre long wall. The roof in this place is supported by thickly placed props of Valent type, popularly called “walencioki” in Silesia. The coal seam is within reach here. Historically, this is the last place of mining in Guido Coal Mine.
Darkness
In this part of the mine, the silence is so deep that you can hear your own heartbeat. Blackness coming from everywhere makes you aware of the fact that you are deep in the heart of the earth. Impenetrable darkness is only dispersed by a sheaf of light of personal mining lamp. In its brightness, the steel machines and devices take fantastic shapes. Imagination likes to play tricks here.
By suspended rail to the Pump Hall
After leaving the longwall your condition will be tested by a steep dip-heading towards shallower regions of a mine. From the 355 level you will go to a rail station of suspended rail which will take you near the underground K8 Zone. The tour ends in the Pump Hall, the deepest located pub in Europe.
Worth knowing:
- The tour is available for the people over 12 years of age
- Tour duration: about 2,5 h
- We recommend you to take comfortable, touristic shoes
- The route recommended for the physically fit people
