While mining gave the town of Trbovlje and its surrounding areas a degree of prosperity, the life of miners has often been difficult. To learn about their challenges, visitors to the “Fourth Shift” Virtual Mining Museum in Trbovlje put on googles and enter a virtual mine, where they experience the confining environment of the coalpits and even interact with very real tools once used by the miners.

Different spaces in the museum’s virtual reality space focus on the various environments encountered by the miners – from the pits themselves to the interior of a typical miner’s home. To create these virtual worlds, curators have employed the latest computer technology and holographic applications. Sound effects, which recreate the noise and the sheer cacophony of the pits, play a central role in transporting visitors to another era – and an alien world deep beneath the surface of the Earth.

When it opened last year, the virtual museum, with its hands-on, computer-driven approach, became the first institution of its kind in Slovenia. Its creators stress that the museum, which is handicapped-accessible, is devoted to the transmission of experience rather than just bare facts. Preannounced groups can even try a traditional miners’ meal.

With the mines in Trbovlje now closing after more than two centuries of activity, the Virtual Mining Museum, which has already welcomed visitors from all continents, is preserving memories of a time when coalpits shaped this part of Slovenia – and provided a livelihood to thousands.