Pasieki coloured ponds (flooded Bibiela mine)

At around 2 p.m. on 17 June 1917, a roar echoed through the Bibiela mine and a torrent of water burst into the workings. The miners managed to escape, but within two hours the entire mine – machinery and equipment included – was under water. Today the site, deep in the forest between Miasteczko Śląskie, Bibiela and Zielona in Upper Silesia, is known as Pasieki: a dozen or so woodland ponds with greenish and rust-coloured water, surrounded by the ruins of the old mine.

History: one of the most productive iron ore mines

Geological surveys around 1860 revealed rich iron ore deposits here, containing up to 48% iron in seams up to 16 m thick. The "Bibiela" mine opened in 1889, alongside the "Szczęście Flory" (Flora's Luck) zinc and lead mine; both were run by the same management. Ore was extracted from four shafts – "Neptun", "Nordstern", "Glück Auf" and "Klemens" – down to about 60 m, and a narrow-gauge railway carried it to the station in Miasteczko Śląskie. At its peak the mine employed 700 people, and eight steam pumps kept the water at bay.

Water was a problem from the start: in 28 years of operation the mine flooded four times. After the 1917 disaster, pumps were brought in from Gliwice, but they could only lower the water level enough to recover part of the equipment. Most of the machinery and around two thirds of the ore remained underground.

What to see at Pasieki

The remains of the mine are now overgrown by forest: concrete foundations and arched walls, a spoil heap of ore and the mouth of an adit. Ponds fill the flooded workings all around, and some have their own names, such as Morskie Oko ("Eye of the Sea") or Staw Rybny ("Fish Pond"). The colour of the water shifts with the light and the season, from green to brown. Water levels dropped noticeably after 1955, when a drinking-water pumping station opened in Bibiela, drawing on the Lubliniec–Myszków groundwater reservoir that supplies Tarnowskie Góry and other towns. The area is protected as the Pasieki nature and landscape complex, and the woods are home to protected species such as yew and February daphne.

Getting there and practical tips

The yellow "Leśno Rajza" cycle route leads to Pasieki along a forest road from Miasteczko Śląskie known as Szyndros. Access is free all year, but this is woodland with no visitor facilities: bring water and sturdy shoes, as paths can be muddy after rain.

Tripto tip

Do not go into the water or near the edges of the old workings – this is former mining ground. The best reflections on the ponds come on a sunny, windless day. On foot, allow 1.5–2 hours to walk round several ponds; by bike, the trip combines easily with other sections of the Leśno Rajza route.