Underground World – Miners at Work in Pre-War Photographs

"Underground World – Miners at Work in Pre-War Photographs" is now open at Stara Kopalnia in Wałbrzych.

The story of this exhibition, so precious to Wałbrzych, begins with pure chance at an antiques market in one of the German cities. Today, the collection of more than 100 unique negatives belongs to the Centrum Nauki i Sztuki Stara Kopalnia, and its first presentation, "Underground World – Miners at Work in Pre-War Photographs," has been on view since the Friday opening.

The opening of this exhibition of remarkable 100-year-old photographs, protected by glass plates, drew a large delegation to Stara Kopalnia at 6 p.m., including miners from Wałbrzych associations, guides, enthusiasts of mining, local history and photography, and residents curious about the new exhibition. The photographer Karol Bagiński of Warsaw, who over the past months worked on restoring and scanning the photographs in large format so they could be presented in a comfortable form for visitors, also attended as a guest. As he repeatedly emphasized, what makes this exhibition unique is the rarity of finding pre-war photographs of such quality and in such good condition. Add to this the words of the curator, Łukasz Chruszcz of Stara Kopalnia, who points out that at that time photography underground in mines was prohibited, and that until now the Wałbrzych museum simply did not have such photographs because they did not exist, and we get an exhibition that Wałbrzych has been waiting for for decades.

The opening was expanded with a lecture by Wałbrzych miners discussing the photographs, and a talk by photographer Karol Bagiński, who explained, based on the available images, how they were made in the 1920s and what equipment had to be used to produce them in such quality. At a meeting in the Sztygarówka café, a special letter from the previous owners of the photographs, collectors from Germany, was also read.

The exhibition "Underground World – Miners at Work in Pre-War Photographs" will now be permanently on view at the Wałbrzych venue.

It can be seen every day along the guided route. Interestingly, an expansion of the exhibition is already being announced, with more photographs from the purchased series showing Wałbrzych and the surrounding landscapes.