2. March 2026

Příbram kindergarteners will become Permonites

The town of Příbram is an old mining town, where the beginning of mining, especially in Březové Hory, dates back hundreds of years. We will be able to commemorate this history during the mining festivities on 12-14 June.

In the first half of June, mining festivities will take place in Příbram, which are connected with the 30th Meeting of Mining Towns and Municipalities of the Czech Republic and the 19th European Day of Miners and Metallurgists. The celebrations organised by the town are also attended by its contributory organisations, the Guild of Příbram Miners and Metallurgists, the Příbram Mining Museum, Příbram schools and associations. Just like during the celebrations ten years ago, we can look forward to seeing the little permons into which Pribram's kindergarten children will be transformed.

"The Příbram schools are also involved in the organisation of the event, during which we expect the arrival of more than a thousand members of mining and metallurgical associations not only from the Czech Republic, at all levels. While high school students will be members of the implementation team, children from Pribram's kindergartens will create artwork and also take part in the ceremonial parades dressed as Permonites, just as they did ten years ago during the celebration of the 800th anniversary of the first written record. This year, the mining history of the town will be discussed more in both kindergartens and primary schools," said Mayor Jan Konvalinka.

It is worth remembering that the first written mention of mining in the Birch Mountains dates back to 1311. In 1875, the world record of 1,000 metres of vertical depth of a shaft pit was achieved at the Vojtěch mine for the first time in the world using a single mining rope.

At the end of the 19th century, in 1892, a fire broke out at the Marie Mine, killing 319 miners - a catastrophe that was the biggest mining disaster in the world at the time and led to the introduction of major safety measures. Mining of silver and lead ores ceased in 1978. The most silver was produced in 1898, namely 39.5 tonnes. Silver production in the 1880s and 1890s at the Příbram mining plant accounted for around 60-80 % of the total Austro-Hungarian production. In the case of lead mining, this amounted to 30-35 % of the monarchy's reserves.

In addition to the extraction of these ores, Příbram is also known for uranium mining, which took place in the Příbram region between 1949 and 1991.