Historical Outline of Iron Mining and Production in the Area of Present-Day Poland

Paweł Wrona,Zenon Różański,Grzegorz Pach,João Pedro Veiga,Adam P Niewiadomski

doi:10.3390/min11101136

Paweł Wrona, Zenon Różański + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/min11101136

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Abstract

The article presents the history of iron ore mining and production in present-day Poland and takes into account mining and production techniques and the influence of mining on the development of the surrounding areas. Examples of development are presented for the most important iron ore mining centers established since the period of the so-called Roman influences—Lower Silesia in the region of Tarchalice and the Świętokrzyskie region in the area of Góry Świętokrzyskie (Świętokrzyskie Mountains). The oldest traces of underground iron ore mining in Poland date back to the 7th–5th century B.C., and iron production dates back from the 1st century B.C. in the Częstochowa region where economically significant iron ore exploitation started in the 14th century and lasted until the 20th century. Studies showed that the development of iron ore mining in today’s Poland was associated with significant events in the country’s history, for example, with the expansion of a network of fortified castles in Silesia or with the industrial revolution. In each case, the increase in iron production resulted in the development and growth of the surrounding areas.

Highlights

Faculty of Mining, Safety Engineering and Industrial Automation, Silesian University of Technology, CENIMAT/I3N (Materials Research Centre) & Department of Conservation and Restoration, NOVA School of
Historical data indicate a significant increase in iron ore mining during World War I
Mining and metallurgy of iron ore on the territory of present-day Poland lasted from the 7th–5th century B.C. until the end of the 20th century A.D

Summary

Outline of the History of Iron Ore Mining in Present Poland

Egypt has uncovered a plate of iron located under the rolls of bandages on the forehead of one of the pharaohs. The expansion of Celtic culture was accompanied by another Iron Age period called the Latenian (the name of the period comes from the archaeological site at La Tène in Switzerland), which lasted from 400 BC to the beginning of our era During this period in Poland, iron was already commonly smelted from ore in the Lower Silesia region and in the Świetokrzyskie Mountains. This period is called the Roman period or Roman influence This period lasted until 4th century A.D. Iron ore mining was significant. An analysis of iron smelting slag produced during the reigns of the first rulers of Poland—Mieszko I and Bolesław Chrobry—allows us to believe that the iron mining and metallurgy industries were present in Poland at the turn of the 9th and 10th centuries A.D. During the Middle.

Exploitation and Ironworks in the Świetokrzyskie Region

Exploitation and Ironworks in Lower Silesia

Exploitation and Metallurgy in the Czestochowa Region

Findings

Summary