Secrets of the Submerged Villages

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Set sail in pursuit of a precious fragment of the past!

A different way to experience the Slovenian Coal Mining Museum in Velenje – A cruise on Lake Velenje with a virtual diving experience – A culinary experience at the new Vista viewing platform, just above the water’s surface

Assist a descendant of miners — who, by excavating lignite from one of the world’s thickest coal seams, transformed the landscape in which they lived — to locate a valuable object beneath the surface of the lake!

Where villages once stood, there are now lakes. What has happened to the houses, schools and churches? Why were they submerged and where did the inhabitants of the village go? Discover the extraordinary life stories of the villagers, miners, and residents of Velenje. With faith in a better future, they mined coal from one of the world’s richest lignite seams.

Allow a miner’s grandson to recount the story to you. Accompany him to the place where it all began. Descend by lift into the tunnels to a depth of up to 160 metres below ground. Experience the daily life of miners. May the water, before your eyes, cover the former villages. Thereafter, set sail across the lake’s surface to where the depths still harbour the mining family’s treasures.

Upon your return, selected local delicacies await you with a view of the former landscape that is still discernible beneath the clear waters of the Velenje Lake. Take with you an unforgettable experience and a unique symbol of the miners of Velenje.

DURATION:

approximately 4 hours (times to be agreed)

PROGRAMME:

• Outside the Slovenian Museum of Coal Mining, a guide meets you and, once you have been suitably equipped, escorts you by lift into a drift.
• After a ride on the mine train, you gain insight into the distinctive aspects of the coal mine in a manner different from that of ordinary museum visitors.
• In the subterranean section of the museum, you can view a digitised presentation of ground subsidence and the submergence of villages. Further specialist content awaits you in the miners’ cloakroom and bathroom.
• A conversation in a miner’s flat brings to light the life stories of former miners.
• A guided walk past the Škale Lake and Velenje’s distinctive allotment gardens leads to the Velenje lake.
• You embark on the vessel at the pier adjacent to the new park and event facility. Experience a virtual immersion in a former village during a boat trip on the lake.
• On your return to the lakeside, you will also visit the Vista viewing platform, where a carefully selected culinary finale to the experience awaits you.

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