Tarnowskie Góry Lead-Silver-Zinc Mine by Zoë Sheng
Without thinking much about it this is the WORST site in Poland at the moment, and they are trying to add ANOTHER mine to the world heritage this year! (and not just Poland but Indonesia, Germany/Czechia with the Ore Mountain Range...when are we done inscribing all the mines!) Again this is one of those that sneaked through the review process and was overruled by the state parties - basically wasting the consulting process from the start. Maybe at one point in the future they can just sit together and decide which sites they LIKE and then we don't need a lengthy expensive process for reviewing them. Having said that, when I rate a site low the review becomes more of an old cat lady rant so I will try to keep it to a minimum:
So I arrived here just after it was inscribed. I would probably not have taken the extra few hours from my Czechia trip to reach it. There was no "UNESCO" sign anywhere but that was the only word I understood from the Polish guide. I saw an English tour inside but they were a larger group and the museum wouldn't start one just for me an hour earlier when I arrived. There is actually little history about the mine you need to know. The first part of the tour just tells you about how the mines work, equipment, steam power, yes I admit for someone who doesn't visit many this can be delightful - but it's generic mining stuff, plus the info about the town surrounding it is just extra padding. The second part is an annoying hike through corridors and that gimmick of a boat ride.
What is supposed to be unique is the lengthy use of hydraulic water management system, the only thing special here. If you have been to a mine before then this is just a repeat again and again, plus the little "gondola" ride. I'm thinking there is more to the site than what you see on the tour else it's shockingly boring.