Mine Tour: Šoht, the steel tower

Today, Šoht is one of the most beautiful monuments of the rich mining past of the Labin area. Šoht is a tall steel tower that over the years has become a symbol of Labin and its inhabitants.

Šoht started operating in 1940, when production began in the Labin Pit. At its top it has two very large wheels which moved in synchrony, with one moving forward, and the other backward, and thus raised or lowered the lift cages. The cages, with three levels, transported miners (16 in each cage at each level), full or empty wagons and various other material.

The vertical shaft guides were made of a special wood (larch) which proved to be the safest in the event of stopping the lift. The lift rope, made up of interwoven steel threads, was inspected and lubricated daily. The height of the tower is 30.93 meters, and the depth of the vertical shaft is 570 m.

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• The Mine Tour project addresses the challenge of the untapped tourist potential of a mining heritage. The Šoht cultural monument in Labin and the natural monument of the Sitarjevec mine in Litija (Slovenia) are connected by a cross-border connection and a common mining past. As part of the project, a tourist itinerary was developed that connects the mining heritage of both cities. www.mine-tour.eu