** Important public transport info at the end of this review **

The Tarnowskie mines (Góry means mines) are labelled as ‘Lead-Silver-Zinc’ – but what they actually produced was Galena, a lead ore that is one of the earliest minerals used by humans (as it is very easy to smelt) and has been mined and processed since ancient times including in pre-Columbian North America. The Romans already used it for their indoor plumbing. Galena can contain tiny grains of silver (0.2 – 1.2% in the case of Tarnowskie) and sometimes is used for its silver as the silver is worth 300 times more than an equal weight of lead. This rarely was the case at Tarnowskie however – it mainly played a supporting role in delivering the lead that was needed for smelting and refining silver that was found elsewhere (Carpathians, Ore Mountains).

The focus of this WHS is on the underground mine and its hydraulic engineering, and you have to join a tour to see it. From waiting around before the tour was to start and 'studying' the information panels, I learned from an extended version of this timeline that Goethe visited the site as well (in 1790). He wouldn’t have any language issues then as the region was Prussian at the time. I had to take a tour in Polish. Make sure to learn the contents of the printouts in English they give you by heart, as it is too dark inside to read it on the tour.

In April 2023, the visitor experience hasn’t changed a bit since the earliest reviews on this website. They could make it so much better with just a few improvements. The museum on the second floor for example is nice enough, but you’re only allowed in with the guide. The explanations take too long for small children and foreign visitors captured on a Polish-speaking tour. Why not just place a few information panels in Polish and English, and let the visitors look around at their own pace? They also didn’t do anything with Solivagant’s advice from 2017 to add subtitles to the videos.

Overall it seems they spiced all that’s available up to extend a visit to 90+ minutes, possibly to warrant the ticket cost which is relatively high for Polish standards: tours in Polish now cost 65 zł, those in foreign languages 90 zł. They also cater mostly to families with small children and school groups, probably a wiser choice than allocating for ‘highbrow’ WH collectors looking for OUV and doing their own comparative analysis.

Getting there on public transport:

Visiting the mine is doable on a day trip from Krakow, but it takes quite a lot of time. Be aware that at least until January 2024, the private rail Katowice-Tarnowskie Gory isn’t running and is being replaced by a bus. The revised itinerary is:

• Take the train to Katowice. The fastest trains take about 50 minutes. My trains were delayed both ways, so I missed out on my intended bus connection and tour slot.
• From Katowice train station, walk to the bus station which is located about 10 minutes to the left from the main city exit.
• The replacement buses to Tarnowksie Gory leave hourly from Platform 17.
• If possible, take the express bus (S8, 50 mins) instead of the slow bus (S80, 1h20). At certain hours they confusingly depart at the same time.
• From Tarnowskie Gory station, you can walk to the mine (all pavement, about 3.5km) or take a taxi (23zł on the meter). The site is called ‘Zabytkowa Kopalnia Srebra‘ in Polish. I didn’t have time to check out the local buses as indicated by Tsunami.
• The train-bus combination can be pre-booked at https://bilkom.pl/. The bus ticket was still valid when I had to take a later bus due to the delayed train.