The exhibition “They Survived Hidden in the Earth. The Prague Groats Hoard and Archaeological Artefacts” is a new addition to the permanent, exceptionally valuable and fascinating display at the Stara Kopalnia Science and Arts Centre in Wałbrzych. Since 10 March 2023 it can be viewed on the guided tour route.
The Prague groats hoard consists of genuine silver coins, a means of payment from the 14th and 15th centuries, of which 1,385 pieces were unearthed on the road from Sobięcin (now a district of Wałbrzych) to Boguszów in 2016. Archaeological artefacts are everyday objects, such as clay vessels for cooking, storing and eating food, flint, stone and iron tools for specialised work, ornaments, stove tiles and weapon components from the Wałbrzych region, dating from 15–12 thousand years ago up to the 18th and 19th centuries. Thanks to these artefacts, archaeologists and historians can determine how our ancestors lived in the past. They are true treasures testifying to our past.
After years of study, cataloguing and documentation related to the find, the entire display has been freely viewable on the mine's tour route since 2023. In the room between the shaft towers Julia and Sobótka, this exceptional collection saw the light of day. On Friday, 10 March 2023, exhibition curator Anna Kowalska, archaeologist at Stara Kopalnia, opened the exhibition in the presence of the Mayor of Wałbrzych, Dr Roman Szełemej, the Deputy Director of Stara Kopalnia, Marta Wróbel, and distinguished guests: Anna Nowakowska, Head of the Wałbrzych Branch of the Voivodeship Heritage Protection Office; Prof. Borys Paszkiewicz of the University of Wrocław, specialising in medieval and early modern numismatics; Prof. Krzysztof Jaworski of the University of Wrocław, responsible for the historical description and field research; and Dr Sylwia Rodak of the University of Wrocław, who prepared the technological and stylistic analysis of two vessels from the hoard. Also present at the opening was Marek Kowalski, archaeologist and conservator from the Voivodeship Heritage Protection Office in Wrocław, Wałbrzych Branch, as well as the finder of the hoard, who had remained anonymous until then, Mr Sylwester Pecyna. As the city's host, Dr Roman Szełemej, emphasised, such an attitude, handing the find over to the town hall for a museum, is worthy of emulation, because thinking about future generations is rare. It is a step towards educating younger generations and preserving relics of the past.
The exhibition “They Survived Hidden in the Earth…” also features a glass composition depicting Wałbrzych, namely the oldest drawing of the town, from the mid-18th century, made by Friedrich Wernher. The glass installation was the culmination of the project “Glass Time – Wanderings Through the Landscape”, carried out at the Stara Kopalnia Science and Arts Centre in Wałbrzych. The project, financed from funds of the Minister of Culture and National Heritage and the Municipality of Wałbrzych, concluded with an exhibition of works in November 2018. Under the direction and according to the concept of the artist Barbara Idzikowska, pupils of Wałbrzych schools and project participants prepared a hundred hand-painted glass tiles which together formed an image of the plan of Wałbrzych. The final result of this project is part of the permanent archaeological exhibition.
Interest in the exhibition from visitors at the opening and from the media testifies to the uniqueness of the display, which attracts not only regional enthusiasts, historians and archaeologists, but also residents of the town and region.
In 2025, as part of a project co-financed by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage from the Culture Promotion Fund, a state purpose fund, and the Municipality of Wałbrzych, a catalogue was published for the permanent archaeological exhibition. Its aim is to present an additional and interesting narrative for the archaeological artefacts on display. The catalogue will serve as a supplement to the exhibition,…
They Survived Hidden in the Earth. The Prague Groats Hoard and Archaeological Artefacts
Permanent
