The old iron smelter near Adamov (Czech Republic)

The national cultural monument in the monument reserve "Stará huť u Adamova" (Huť Františka) is located in the Josefovské valley of the Křtinský stream opposite its mouth to Svitava Adamove on the road to Olomučany or Křtiny. In the 8th - 12th centuries, iron ore was already being processed in a wide area and iron products were made from it. Local limonite ore deposits were used as raw material. At the latest in the 15th and 16th centuries. a nearby iron mill (called "Althamr") was established at the junction and in 1746 a smelter with a blast furnace, called "František", was established here. Charcoal was used for fuel, which was obtained by burning wood in the surrounding area. In the eighties of the 18th century the smelter produced 7.5% of all Moravian iron production. The activity of the smelter was discontinued in 1877. The dominant building of the smelter is a 10-meter-high coal blast furnace with a base of 12 × 12 meters. Along with an early 19th century office and service building - Švýcárna metal inn, loading ramps, two lime kilns and several residential buildings, the complex was declared the first (and only) technical monument, in what was then Czechoslovakia in 1971. The foundry, warehouses, smelters and other buildings, necessary for the smelter's activities, have not survived. Part of the exhibits is also an exposition of the area of Slavic iron metallurgy, where model iron smelters are sometimes demonstrated in the reconstruction of early medieval iron furnaces. The area is freely accessible and passable, and there is an equipment museum in a former service building. The smelter belongs to the Technical Museum in Brno.

An uncomplicated, not very big, but kind of interesting non-traditional model, which, under the supervision of a more experienced colleague, will perfectly stick even an advanced beginner modeler.