GEOTOUR & IRSE 2012.pdf - Fakulta BERG - TUKE

Salgótarján, 04. – 06. 2012
important elements of local development seem: active attitude and acceptance of reforms
introduced by local communities, private enterprises operating within a given region,
ability of creative thinking etc. Local development comprises not only economical,
political and cultural changes but also other processes taking place in communities, since
the changes result in changes of “relationships, institutions, groups and other forms of
social systems”.
Local development takes place on three levels:
1. related to economy (establishment and development of private enterprises; local
government institutions and local communities);
2. related to natural environment and site development (allocation of resources,
development of neglected sites, protection of the natural environment);
3. related to culture and societies (identifying with a given region, common goals,
cognitive and educational benefits).
It seems that attitude of local authorities, which commit to stimulate business activity and
employment by facilitating suitable conditions within a given commune, constitutes
fundamentals of local development. On one hand, it means bringing into play numerous
instruments vested to a commune to acquire investors, and on the other hand, it means own
initiative of local authorities to use potential of a given commune, its resources (natural,
human and institutional) in order to achieve a multi-dimensional development – meaning
development, which offers additional employment, concerns social issues, improvement of
social, road and technical infrastructure, protection of environment as well as personal
development of its residents. It has been proved that key factors contributing to success are:
cooperation between institutions, organizations and enterprises of three branches of industry
(and such complete form of cooperation is partnership), and that development should be based
on local knowledge and skills, which calls for continuous growth and use of social potential,
the so called social capital and facilitating innovative activities, undertaken also in neglected
regions subject to restructuring, which is usually the case for former industrial regions,
including excavation industries (Nieroba, 2007).
GEOTOURIST POTENTIAL OF THE LOWER SILESIA PROVINCE
Closed mines and former production plants constitute resources often perceived as
burdensome and sometimes as an ugly burden even though they could be introduced back into
a business cycle with a new function, e.g. tourist venue, concert hall, art gallery. Adjusting the
post-industrial structures to new functions related to culture, science or leisure appears
possible and needed. Belief of local authorities in gaining significantly big benefits from the
like projects seems of a key importance. We shall now investigate benefits, which may be
gained from creative attitude toward a post-industrial facilities and its revitalization, in
particular within Lower Silesia region known for remains of former mining works, which in
particular have become an inherent and characteristic element of mountain and highland
regions.
Interchangeable influences of various cultures present for centuries within Lower Silesia have
contributed to rich resources of monuments and other substantial evidences of cultural
activity, including thousands of monuments of architecture and urban architectural ensembles.
These relicts stand out from the surrounding and are found mostly in a form of gangue heaps,
cavities, sometimes partially of completely preserved pit shafts, adits – usually in a good
condition, ruins of mining architecture, ore processing and floatation machines (e.g. reservoirs
for back water flow), and finally many evidences of intensive exploration works. These
structures are usually deprived of any form of protection and hardly any documents
concerning their past are found. Many of the preserved and accessible structures are
disappearing from the local landscape never to be seen again due to various works performed
122