Malenovice:
A Village with a History
of Ore Extraction
The picturesque village of Malenovice is situated at the base of Lysá hora. Thousands
of hikers, skiers, and cyclists pass it on their way to the highest peak of the MoravianSilesian Beskyds. Malenovice is certainly worth seeing and sticking around for long
enough to take in its charm and beauty.
There is quite a lot that makes this village near
Frýdlant nad Ostravicí a place of interest, tangled
in mysteries. One of the legends is the mining
history of the place. Malenovice belongs to
numerous mountain villages where iron ore used
to be extracted. 17th-century documents prove
that the iron ore from Malenovice was processed
in Staré Hamry nearby, and the greatest demand
came in the early 1800s, with orders from the
ironworks in Baška.
The ore containing 20-30% of iron was found
in the valley of the Satina river. The river whose
waterfalls at the upper end of Malenovice are
considered one of the most romantic locations in
the Beskid mountains. Jobs in the ore extraction
were far from current romantic walks by the river.
The shafts were dug deep in the river banks, the
longest 300 metres. In some points the miners
dag vertical shafts, some of them about 10 metres
deep. Where the ore deposits were extremely rich
in iron, they went even 30 metres deep.
methane. They sent a man down the underground
system with a five- to six-metre-long stick with a
burning bunch of straw attached at the end. The
miner went crawling, sheltering his head with a
kind of bathtub. When the torch at the long stick
reached the area the methane was emerging from,
the gas exploded, flames blew past the miner and
the shaft was ready for safe extraction again.
Documents show that 150 years ago, Malenovice
had as many as 50 miners. Gradually, the demand
for local ore decreased, Lískovec and Ostrava
started more progressive ironworks which
requested larger and faster supplies. Extraction in
Malenovice became inefficient.
Another significant place worth visiting and staying
at for a while when in Malenovice is the church on
Borová peak. It is an astonishing dominant feature
in the landscape which offers marvellous views of
the Beskyd Mountains.
The work itself was very dangerous and many
miners never returned home. The legendary
talents of miners from Malenovice included a
unique way to clear the shafts off dangerous
Text a foto:
Mgr. Petr Žižka
Text a foto:
Petr Žižka
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