Museum of Ancient Metallurgy of the Świętokrzyskie Mountains in Nowa Słupia

In Nowa Słupia, at the foot of Święty Krzyż (Holy Cross Mountain), stands a museum built directly over an archaeological site: beneath its roof lie the remains of ancient bloomery furnaces dating from the 1st to the 3rd century AD. The Mieczysław Radwan Museum of Ancient Metallurgy shows how iron was smelted in the Świętokrzyskie Mountains almost two thousand years ago – and why bloomery fires are still lit here every year.

History: a pavilion over an excavation

The museum was created after the remains of ancient smelting furnaces were found by the road to Święty Krzyż. From 1956 the Warsaw Museum of Technology lobbied for it, and on 29 May 1960 a pavilion opened that also served as a shelter for the excavation. Among its initiators was archaeologist Kazimierz Bielenin, who discovered and studied a total of 135 sites in the Kielce region. Owing to high visitor interest the building was extended in 1967–1968 and named after Mieczysław Radwan, a metallurgist and researcher of ancient ironworking.

In 2016 the museum was handed over to the Nowa Słupia municipality, which used EU funds to rebuild it as a multimedia museum. The new building opened in December 2021 and is accessible to visitors with disabilities. Since January 2025 it has been run jointly by the municipality and the Świętokrzyskie regional government.

What to see

• Bloomery remains – original furnace relics on the archaeological site.
• Smelting technology – from ore to finished iron, with the extent of the ancient ironworking district.
• Iron objects made from metal produced by the traditional method.
• The history of research and excavations in the region.
• The Cultural and Archaeological Centre next door (opened in 2011), with reconstructed huts, furnaces and a section of fortifications modelled on Hadrian's Wall.

Curiosities: bloomery days since 1967

The first Dymarki Świętokrzyskie (Świętokrzyskie Bloomery Days) took place in September 1967 – a public iron smelt using a two-thousand-year-old method drew visitors from all over Poland and won first prize in a national competition for the most interesting sightseeing event. Today the festival is held on an August weekend, and since 2017 the museum has co-organised the "People of Fire and Iron" archaeological festival. In 2023 nearly 20,000 people visited the museum.

Tripto tips

The museum is open all year round, every day; check current hours and prices with the museum or the Nowa Słupia municipality before you go. Allow about an hour for the exhibition, longer if you add the Cultural and Archaeological Centre. A visit combines easily with the walk up to Święty Krzyż (Łysiec), at whose foot the museum stands. To see a live smelt, come for the August festival – but expect crowds.