Central Mining Museum
The Central Mining Museum opened in October 1957 in the Esterházy Palace in the centre of Sopron. The house of medieval origin at the beginning of Templom Street was the residence of the town captains until 1631.
One of its famous residents was the early Baroque composer András Rauch, a contemporary of Kristóf Lackner. Its inner courtyard preserved its Renaissance character, and its façade was reconstructed in Baroque style in the 18th century, when it became the property of the Esterházy family.
The building, which houses the museum, preserves and presents relics, documents and photographic material of mining in Hungary. The permanent exhibitions present minerals and rocks that are valuable from mining perspective, applied arts and visual arts in mining as well as the millennial history of mining in Hungary, highlighting the history of higher education in mining. The history of mining production is illustrated by mining reconstructions, from prehistory to the present day.
The Visual Gallery entitled What Makes It Work?, which employs the latest museological and IT applications and methods, follows the history of energy utilization in mining, from human power to the use of electricity. In the Visual Gallery, visitors can virtually have an insight into the museum storerooms, which have thousands of artefacts, historical photos and maps. The digital coin gallery displays the most significant Hungarian coins in circulation and mining tokens.
The Museum’s Fun Mine is the realm of children, where everyone can become a small miner, put on a mining helmet, slide down into the mine, travel in narrow and dark tunnels, ride a mining cart and try out the medieval water lift structure.
The latest development of the museum was realised within the framework of the NÉZŐpont (VIEWpoint) - the interaction between the development of mining and human civilization - EFOP-4.1.9-16-2017-00034 tender. In the so-called the painted halls, only one object per hall - the glass map of Selmecbánya and the Mine Hill in Selmecbánya - were placed in a well-examinable way. In addition to these two objects, which are already varied and interesting, interactivity is assisted by digital devices. The motto of the interactive exhibition is “Grab your mobile and have an adventure with us!”, which was possible to realize with the help of a Wi-Fi network extended to all exhibitions in the museum. This makes it possible to supplement the knowledge of the exhibitions with a virtual knowledge base. The uploaded material on mining history makes the museum visit more complete and interesting with photographic, video additions (Collections, Knowledge Base), computer games adapted to the exhibition, as well as a Lego-playing opportunity for the smaller ones. The exhibitions are provided with a QR code in three languages and are ADA-compliant (accessible to the blind and partially sighted, deaf and hard of hearing, and to those with reduced mobility).
The exhibition is managed by the Sopron Museum, the most important information, entrance fees and opening hours can be found at the following link: www.sopronimuzeum.hu
The Central Mining Museum is open from Tuesday to Sunday, 10:00-18:00.
With the combination ticket you can visit the following child-friendly exhibitions in downtown Sopron:
- Macskakő Children's Museum (Sopron Szent György u. 12)
- Évárium Toy Collection (Sopron, Kolostor utca 7.)
- Exhibition "Fairytale history" in the Museum Quarter (Sopron, Fő tér 6-8.)
- Adventure Mine in the Central Mining Museum (Sopron, Templom utca 2.)
The combination ticket is available at the Museum Quarter ticket office.
Info on admission prices (ticket combination for families)
Adult: 5500 HUF
Child ticket: 2750 HUF
Family for 2 adults and 1 or 2 children: 13000 HUF
Family for 1 adult and 2 children: 8500 HUF
