Trip Planner: Europe / Slovenia / Slovenian Littoral Region / Idrija / Idrija Kamšt

Idrija Kamšt, Idrija

4.5

World heritage site · Mine · Hidden Gem · Landmark

Create an itinerary including Idrija Kamšt

The “Kamšt” is a large water-powered pumping device, which was used to pump the pit water from the Idrija Mercury Mine. The name comes from the German word Wasserkunst and means “water art”. It consists of a wooden drive wheel, a wooden-steel horizontal drive bars, a vertical pumping bars and piston pumps. The special feature of the ”Kamšt” is its huge driving wheel with a diameter of 13.6m. There were many examples of “Kamšt” operating for the mining purposes in Idrija. Only this one at the Joseph’s Shaft is preserved today, it was installed in 1790 and operated for over 150 years, until 1948.

Plan to visit Idrija Kamšt and other customer-reviewed, writer-recommended Idrija attractions using our Idrija day trip planner.
Source

Improve this listing »

Create a full itinerary - for free!

Idrija Kamšt reviews

Rate this attraction

TripAdvisor traveler rating

9 reviews

Google

4.6

By Miha P

Huge wheel is a small part of former Mercury mine. Wheel was used to pump water. It is preserved in the suburb of Idrija in independent building. Ask in museum or in the tourist office for a guide to.... more

Huge wheel is a small part of former Mercury mine. Wheel was used to pump water. It is preserved in the suburb of Idrija in independent building. Ask in museum or in the tourist office for a guide to.... more »
By Clunegapyears

Wow factor as it is so big! You also get to see some of the trains / engines used. Do this as part of the three extra museum visits you can book up at the castle museum.... EUR6 for all three...

Wow factor as it is so big! You also get to see some of the trains / engines used. Do this as part of the three extra museum visits you can book up at the castle museum.... EUR6 for all three... more »
By CKTruck

Urban, one of the staff from the Museum at the castle, took us for an excellent 1 hour walk across Idrija explaining to us about the history of mercury mining in Idrija and how the industry changed...

Urban, one of the staff from the Museum at the castle, took us for an excellent 1 hour walk across Idrija explaining to us about the history of mercury mining in Idrija and how the industry changed... more »

See more on TripAdvisor ›

Google

By Boštjan Kavčič

Nice place 😉

more less
By MARTIN GREGORIN

ok

more less
By barbarabendova

Quite nice place, interesting history. Worth seeing!

more less
By Nik Marolt

Very lovely playground for children and a park to walk around with your dog, very beautiful.

more less
By Tim Turšič

Great for getting a breath of fresh air

more less