Hornické Muzeum OKD (mining museum)

The largest mining museum in the Czech Republic is located at the south-eastern foothill of Landek, lying above the junction of the rivers Odra and Ostravice. In 1992 Landek was proclaimed a national natural landmark. It is a world-famous site in terms of geology, archaeology, history, natural science, and mining. Actually, it is the combination of the mining museum as a technical monument and the Landek hill as a national natural landmark with rich vegetation and animal life which gives this site its uniqueness and attraction. Landek is also famous for the unique finding of the Venus of Landek – a 46 mm high torso of a woman cut out of haematite ore. Its slender, almost „cubist“ shape is different from regular Palaeolithic Venuses. It is the only slender Venus found in Europe. The museum was opened on December 4, 1993, which is the day of St. Barbara, the patroness of miners.