Solivar Museum - Salt Warehouse, Solivarská, Prešov-Solivar, Slovakia

Solivar National Cultural Monument

Solivar National Cultural Monument

Solivar in Prešov is a national cultural monument and one of the most important technical monuments in Slovakia. It is a unique complex of technical buildings for pumping and boiling salt from brine, dating back to the 17th century. The buildings for the extraction of rock salt and brine pumping in Solivar include in particular the Leopold shaft, cheterne (brine reservoirs), a smelter, a brewhouse, a salt storehouse (chambers), blacksmith's workshops and a knocker's shop (turntable). The Leopold pit was the central structure and must be considered the oldest. It began to be excavated in 1571. It is a 155 m deep pit originally called the Imperial Pit. In 1674, the gap was built over it. The building itself and the mechanism required serious repairs (the first in 1807, the second in 1844). The mechanism was turned by four pairs of horses. The brine was pumped in a leather bellows containing 5-7 hl. The saltpans were one of the largest in Central Europe.

Modernisation since the 19th century

The storage tanks for the extracted brine were built in 1815. There are eight wooden tanks with a capacity of 1320 hl on stone bases, 10560 hl in total. All the tanks formed a single unit and were located under one roof, structurally adapted to the terrain. The brine was fed into the tanks from the desalination tank via a wooden pipe from the Leopold shaft. From the lowest situated additional tank, located at the ground level of the ridge, the brine was fed into the preheating tank, then into the evaporation basin. At the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries. Two boiling houses, František and Ferdinand, were built (demolished in 1931). The František brewhouse has not survived in its original form; it burnt to the ground in a fire in 1819. The brine was injected into the evaporation basin. The crystalline salt was dug out and transferred to the eaves chambers, where the salt was left for about 24 hours. It was transferred by wooden chutes to the drying chambers and after 8 hours or more it was then transferred to the warehouse or dispatched. The salt was transported from the cooking plant to the warehouse on rails in small wooden carts. The salt warehouse in its original form was completed around 1825. It was in fact the most architecturally imposing building on the entire site. It burned down on 18 May 1986. The inimitable trussed timber truss structure burned. For the sake of completeness, we would like to mention the bell tower, which in earlier times served as a knocker. It is built on a hill - a hillside. Knocking on the board was used to announce to the miners or employees of the mining company the beginning of working hours and other important or extraordinary events (natural disasters). It ceased its function after the First World War.

Unique "Old saltworks"

The area of the salt factory „Starý solivar“ from the turn of the 18th and 19th century has been preserved as a unique technical monument, which has no rival in the field of technical monuments of a similar kind in Slovakia. The construction and prosperity of this factory is due in no small part to the governmental and commercial strategy of the Habsburgs. It was built with the help of imperial experts and the labour skill and perseverance of the local population. In 2016, the salt warehouse, which had been in ruins since a fire in 1986, was opened to the general public in NKP Solivar. It no longer serves its original purpose - storage and distribution of salt, but it is becoming an interesting functional space with multiple uses. The reconstructed building has the largest historically precious central hall, from which the individual rooms - former salt chambers - are accessed. These are divided into a museum section, a congress area and an economic section, which is reserved for office, catering and sanitary facilities. The warehouse tower, dominated by a working clock and bell, has also been restored. You can also read about the Solivar in Prešov on wikipedia under Solivar (Prešov). If you are already in the city of Prešov, you will be able to visit several other unique sights. We can recommend, for example Cathedral Church of St. John the Baptist, Museum of Jewish Culture, St. Nicholas Cathedral, Florian's Gate, Church of St. Joseph, Water tower, Calvary etc.

Map

Gallery

Information

Slovak Technical Museum - Solivar Museum Liberators Square 4 080 05 Prešov-Solivar Tel. no. : 0918 586 446 E-mail: muzeum.solivar@stm-ke.sk Web: www.muzeumsolivar.sk Director: PhDr. Marek Duchoň tel.: 051/77 54 354 tel.: 0918 965 698 email: marek.duchon@stm-ke.sk Summer operation: april - october Tuesday - Saturday 9.00 - 17.00 Museum entrances: 9.00, 10.30, 12.30, 14.00, 15.30 (the tour of the museum grounds lasts 45 - 60 min) Winter operation: november - march Tuesday - Saturday 8.00 - 16.00 Museum entrances: 8.00, 9.00, 10.30, 12.30, 14.00 (The tour of the museum grounds lasts approx. 90min.) The museum is CLOSED during public holidays and public holidays The maximum number of visitors per entry is 45! ENTRY FEES GUIDED TOUR OF THE SITE (INCLUDES A TOUR OF THE SALT STORE): Adult: 9€ Pupils, high school students, students with ISIC card, war veterans, pensioners up to 70 years of age: 5€ Family ticket - max. 2 adults and 3 children: 19 € Children under 6, seniors over 70: 1€ Exhibitions (single admission, unless otherwise specified): 2€ Guided exhibitions (single admission fee unless otherwise specified): 3 € Special programs (educational programs, experiential programs, guided tours) - single admission fee: 5 € Children up to 3 years old - FREE Holders of ZMS, AMG Czech Republic, ICOM card, ITIC, PRESS, Disabled - FREE Pedagogical accompaniment of the school group (pedagogue for 10 pupils) - FREE OF CHARGE Photography/filming: 1 € Photography with tripod, filming weddings, etc. - price for each started hour: 50 € / hour. ENTRANCE FEES (SALT WAREHOUSE TOUR): Adult: 3 € Pupils, high school students, students with ISIC card, war veterans, pensioners up to 70 years of age: 2 € Family ticket - max. 2 adults and 3 children: 7 € Preschool children, seniors over 70: 1 € Children up to 3 years of age, seniors over 70 years of age, employees of the Ministry of Culture, holders of the Museum Association card, ICOM card, disabled persons: FREE Exhibitions (single admission fee, unless otherwise specified): 2€ The Solivar Museum is easily accessible by car, parking is right next to the salt warehouse. From the centre of Prešov, as well as from the railway and bus station you can easily get by local transport - by trolleybus No. 1, stop Museum Solivar. The timetable can be found at:  https://www.dpmp.sk/l30_Solivar-1-A-82.html

Discovering Prešov

1 2 3
All the highlights
By pressing the “Subscribe to newsletter” button, you agree that we process your personal data provided via this form on the basis of the legal basis of Article GPDR. 6, paragraph 1, letter a) consent to the processing of personal data. You can withdraw your consent at any time. Please refer to our privacy policy for further information.