The Sitarjevec mine is one of the richest sources of minerals in Europe and other parts of the world. One of the most beautiful properties of minerals is their lustre in a wide array of colours, which is caused by the refraction of light on their surface. We found more than 60 different types of minerals and you can see the splendour of some of them displayed in the part of the mine that is opened for tourists. The most famous are crystals of cinnabar, cerussite, native lead, copper and mercury.

The Sitarjevec mine is widely known for its exceptional limonite dripstone structures, which grow at a high speed in the abandoned mine shafts. Under favourable conditions, such as the constant inflow of mineral-enriched cave water, temperature, humidity and balanced microflora, stalactites grow up to 5 cm per year. The colourfulness and picturesqueness of the mine tunnels are complemented by yellow limonite mud, which is an excellent natural pigment.

Bats are the only mammals that have the ability to fly. There are more than 1000 species in the world and 30 in Slovenia. The Sitarjevec mine is home to the small horseshoe bat, a protected species named after their horseshoe-shaped mouth. They are very small (3-5 cm) and weigh up to 10 grams. They are extraordinary not only because of their ability to fly, but also because of the way they orient themselves in space with the help of inaudible ultrasound, which also helps them when hunting. Another way in which they are special is because they hibernate – similarly to bears, they sleep through the winter.

The extraction of ore in the area of Sitarjevec dates back to the distant past. Archaeological sites in the nearby vicinity indicate that mining was already present in Litija approximately 4000 years ago. Remains of dwellings and slag from this period were found in the area of today’s Litija Primary School, and remains of a settlement from the Late Iron Age were found on the Sitarjevec hill (448 m). From the top of the Sitarjevec hill you can enjoy the beautiful view of the Sava River, where once stood an important traffic route, ideal for the development of mining in this area. This route was already used by the Romans, who were the first to start digging underground.

In 1880, a smelter was built on the left bank of the Sava River for the needs of smelting ore (mainly lead and mercury) from Sitarjevec. The ore was transported across the Sava River by a 364 m long freight cable car, as well as by carts that drove it over a wooden bridge built in 1855. The smelter caused a number of problems, as it had a negative impact on the health of humans, animals and plants due to the release of toxic sulphur gases. Despite the additional high chimneys that were built by the management due to numerous complaints about pollution, there was a mass death of bees in the 1920s. The following multiannual beekeepers’ litigation resulted in, among other thing, the shutdown of the plant in 1924.

Beekeepers’ litigation is a term that depicts the fight of Litija’s beekeepers against the Litija smelter. Toxic gases of lead ore caused great ecological damage in the area. In addition to the mass killings of bees, the smelter caused a number of diseases in animals, as well as humans and plants. The litigation lasted for a few years. The final verdict was passed in the Supreme Court in Zagreb in the beekeepers’ favour. The smelter in Litija was closed and the machines were moved to Topusko in Croatia. The beekeepers’ litigation was the first successful ecological lawsuit in Slovenia (1921 – 1926).