Tajchy
Tajchy (singular: tajch, from
24 artificial lakes still exist and serve recreational purposes. Because of their historical value, tajchy were proclaimed by the UNESCO to be a World Heritage Site on 11 December 1993, together with the town of Banská Štiavnica and technical historical monuments in its surroundings.[2]
Operation
The region of Banská Štiavnica lacks significant sources of flowing surface water. That is why tajchy were designed to store water derived from precipitation. Channels with the overall length of 72 km diverted water from the rain and melting snow to sixty reservoirs.[3] The whole system could accumulate 7 million m3 of water.[1] The water then flowed through 57 km of channels to water wheels, which powered seven pumps equipped with a pendulum-action system. The pumps removed excess groundwater from mines and the water wheels later also provided energy for mining, processing, metallurgy, and mills.[4]
History
Banská Štiavnica was an important medieval mining center, producing mostly silver. The first water reservoirs were founded by the local miners in the 15th century.
In the 18th century, tajchy gradually expanded into a complicated system of lakes and channels, designed by three famous engineers: Jozef Karol Hell, his father
The renewed prosperity resulted in great economic and cultural development of Banská Štiavnica.
Water reservoirs
Until the mid-19th century, the three tallest dams in Europe built for the mining industry had been tajchy in Slovakia: Rozgrund (30.2 m), Počúvadlo (29.6 m), and Veľká Richňava (23.4 m). In the same period, 7 out of 13 European mining water reservoirs with the biggest volume of water were tajchy.[8] After several centuries, tajchy became an integral part of their natural environment. Several of the dams have been recently reconstructed. Some of the reservoirs are heavily frequented by tourists, while other, usually smaller lakes lie hidden in the forests of the Štiavnica Mountains.
The largest lake is Počúvadeľské jazero (or Počúvadlo) with an area of 12.13 hectares and a depth of 11 m.[4] The volume is 745,000 m3. The main dam is 195 m long and 19 m thick.[9] Tourist infrastructure makes Počúvadlo the most popular of all tajchy.[10]
Veľká Richňavská nádrž (or Veľká Richňava) has a dam 569 m long, 23.4 m high, and 23 m thick. This tajch is characterized by the largest depth (21 m) and volume (960,000 m3).[9] It supplies Štiavnické Bane with water and also serves for recreation.
Rozgrund was the highest earthen dam in Czechoslovakia until the second half of the 20th century. The reservoir supplies the town of Banská Štiavnica with drinking water.[11]
List of all preserved reservoirs
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References
- ^ a b "Tajchy v Banskej Štiavnici" (in Slovak). SKonline. Retrieved 24 May 2007.
- ^ "Tajchy – vznik tajchov" (in Slovak). MO SRZ Banská Štiavnica. Retrieved 24 May 2007.
- ^ "Štiavnické tajchy – prírodná zaujímavosť" (in Slovak). Región Hont – regionálny informačný systém. Archived from the original on 5 May 2007. Retrieved 24 May 2007.
- ^ a b c d "Slovakia in the UNESCO Treasury – Banská Štiavnica (page 4)". Retrieved 24 May 2007.
- ^ "Tajchy v okolí Banskej Štiavnice" (in Slovak). Unofficial site of Banská Štiavnica. Archived from the original on 4 April 2007. Retrieved 24 May 2007.
- ^ a b "Richňavské tajchy" (in Slovak). Geopark Banská Štiavnica. Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 24 May 2007.
- ^ a b "Slovakia in the UNESCO Treasury – Banská Štiavnica (page 5)". Retrieved 24 May 2007.
- ^ "Vodohospodársky systém" (in Slovak). Geopark Banská Štiavnica. Archived from the original on 24 March 2007. Retrieved 24 May 2007.
- ^ a b "Banská Štiavnica : Tajchy" (in Slovak). 4adventure. Archived from the original on 2 July 2007. Retrieved 24 May 2007.
- ^ "Štiavnické tajchy: nejstarší přehrady na světě". Mladá fronta DNES (in Czech). 30 August 2004. Retrieved 24 May 2007.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 15 January 2005. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
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Marian Lichner et col.: Banskostiavnicke tajchy (Slovak/English) published by Studio harmony 1999,