Water Pump of Idrija (kamšt)

The Kamšt in Idrija is a huge wooden waterwheel built to drain the town's mercury mine, and it is among the most impressive monuments of early industrial engineering in Slovenia. The word kamšt comes from the German Kunst, which in the old mining language meant a machine. Idrija's mine was one of the deepest and richest in Europe, and as the shafts went down below the level of the river, water poured into the workings and had to be pumped out continuously. Until the eighteenth century, this was done with horse-driven and hand-operated devices, which were slow and expensive, and the solution was to harness the power of the Idrijca river itself.

The wheel, finished at the end of the eighteenth century, has a diameter of about thirteen and a half metres, and it is described as the largest preserved wooden waterwheel of its kind in Europe. It was driven by water brought from the river along a stone-lined channel several kilometres long, called the Rake, which ran along the hillside to the wheel house. As the great wheel turned, a system of rods and levers carried its movement across to the mine shaft, where it worked pumps that lifted water from deep below the surface. It was a remarkable piece of engineering for its time, and it kept the mine dry for generations until electric pumps took over in the twentieth century.

Today, the wheel stands inside its original stone building, and visitors can see it from close up, along with the system of rods and gears and other equipment from the mine. The scale is striking: the wheel fills the space, its spokes rising high above the visitor's head, and the dark wood and iron fittings give a sense of how heavy and powerful the machine was. Displays explain how it worked, and the building also holds items related to mine transport. A visit takes less than an hour and is inexpensive, and it gives a good understanding of how technology made deep mining possible.

The Kamšt is part of the group of sites that make up the Idrija mining heritage, which is recognised by UNESCO. The Idrija Mercury Mine and the Anthony Mine Shaft let visitors descend into the workings, Gewerkenegg Castle houses the Municipal Museum of Idrija, and the Idrija Geopark Visitors' Centre explains the geology. The Idrija Lace, Church of Mary on the Rock, Old School, Wild Lake (Divje Jezero), the Feldban hiking trail and the Zgornja Idrijca Nature Park are other places to see. Check the opening hours, as these vary with the season.