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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