The history of the Mayrau mine began on July 23, 1874. On that day the Prague Metal Company started drilling of a pit on the hill Homolka near Vinařice. A 9 metre thick coal seam was uncovered on September 28, 1878, in the depth of 515.2 metres. The mine was named after the then-president of the board of directors - JUDr. Kajetán Majer, free lord of Mayrau. With a view to improve the efficiency of exploitation and ventilation, a second pit called Robert was drilled fifty metres to the east of the first one in 1881 to 1884. It was named after Florentin Robert, one of the owners of the mining company. After both pits were connected with a cross-drift and fully equipped, a railway siding to the mine was built.
Gradually, the mine reached the depth of 527 metres. During its existence 34 million tons of coal was excavated out of it. Mining was terminated here in 1997.
Mayrau was not only one of the largest mines of the Kladno region, it was also one with the most varied past. Mining there was done in exceptionally adverse geological conditions; shock bumps, fires and gob fires were no exception. Also for this reason the mining rescue service was established here as early as in 1924.At the same time, new methods of excavation were introduced at the mine. Due to the fact that the life at this almost legendary shaft was monitored by a number of recorders, photographers as well as expert workers, the biggest number of documents related to coal mining in the Kladno region comes from here. This was also one of the reasons why it was chosen as the place for a mining outdoor museum with a documentation and study centre.
The Mayrau mine - brief chronology
1874 - beginning of the first shaft sinking (Mayrau)1878 - uncovering of the first coal seam
1881 - beginning of the second shaft sinking (Robert)
1924 - formation of mining rescue service
1928 - introduction of jiggings
1932 - introduction of chipping hammers
1933 - tests of the first longwall face
1943 - first flush equipment
1960 - utilization of hydro-mechanization
1997 - termination of mining