See Idrija kamšt, a jewel of Slovenian technical heritage!
With the help of water energy, the mechanism of Idrija kamšt was bringing water from the depths of mining shafts onto the surface for more than 150 years enabling the miners to work in the least accessible parts of the mine. With its more than 13 m diameter, the wheel of Idrija kamšt from 1790 is the largest preserved wooden water wheel in Europe. Its unusual name comes from the German word Wasserkunst (water art) designating just such historic water apparatus.
Welcome to the Idrija Kamšt, a magnificent pump that drew cave water from the depths of the Idrija Mercury Mine. Here, in the area of Jožef's Shaft, it was built in 1790 and operated without interruption for 158 years.
Explore Idrija Kamšt using Augmented Reality (AR). Download the mobile app for the Android and Apple iOS operating systems and see where you are in AR mode at your location.
Groundwater threatened work in the pits, so pumping water from the pit was one of the most important mining tasks. With the introduction of various kamšts – water-powered pumps – in the 16th century, an important step in the modernization of the mine was taken in Idrija.
Several kamšts operated in Idrija. At first, they were powered by the Nikova stream. When this was no longer enough, they dammed the Idrijca river. The Idrijca, driven along a water channel called the Rake, powered not only the Kamšt, but also sawmills and other mining equipment.
The oldest was the Kamšt near the Ahacij’s Shaft, which is already mentioned by Valvasor, and to this day only the one in the area of the Jožef’s Shaft, which is open to visitors, has been preserved.
In 2021, in cooperation with the Idrija Municipal Museum and the company Arctur d.o.o. we digitized the exterior of the Idrija Kamšt building in 3D and prepared a three-dimensional reconstruction of the internal and underground elements of the wheel, pole and pumps.
Three-dimensional materials were the basis for the preparation of 3D animations and 3D views in augmented reality (AR), which are accessible in a mobile application for smartphones. With the mobile application, it is possible to get to know the mighty technical masterpiece of this water pump at the location itself.
Explore Idrija Kamšt using Augmented Reality (AR). Download the mobile app for the Android and Apple iOS operating systems and see where you are in AR mode at your location.
The pump was driven by water from Idrijca, carried along the canal - rake. The rotation of the shaft of the drive wheel, on which the water flowed, was transmitted via a crank, a connecting rod and a horizontal drive rod with the help of a three-armed lever to a vertical pumping rod, which was driven down the shaft into the depth of the mine. The wheel rotated 5 to 6 times per minute.
Water from the tunnels flowed into a collection basin on the XI. horizon of the mine at a depth of 283 m. A suction basket connected to a pipeline and pump shaft was submerged in it. The pump shaft, with the help of piston pumps, sucked and lifted the water through the pipeline. The pump's capacity was 1,138 l/min.
