In photos: The history of Trepça through crystals
Muzeu i Kristaleve në Stantërg ruan trashëgiminë e Trepçës.
At the entrance to Stan Terg in Mitrovica, above the subterranean underground that preserves the famous Trepça mine, are a few iron doors and a security guard sitting in the corner, protecting the Crystal Museum.
On a first glance, it looks like an ordinary tourist stop, but inside the museum is a long history of Kosovo’s subterranean wealth, presenting a living geological archive that is illuminated by the colors and shapes of rare minerals.
“Welcome to the Kosovo Crystal Museum ‘Trepça’,” invites Ibrahim Musa, a geological engineer from Shala e Bajgora, who has lived his whole life near these subterranean minerals, having now become their guardian. With hands trained to work with stones and minerals, Ibrahim touches three light switches in the exhibition hall, and the crystals come to life. The shimmer is reflected in red, green, ice-white, and even blue.
Over 2,000 minerals are displayed on wooden shelves, but at the entrance, visitors are immediately drawn to an extraordinary human-made creation: a classic 3D model of the mining area, crafted tile by tile in the 1960s. This model depicts each underground horizon of the Trepça mine, demonstrating how the mine extends deep into the earth.
The installation recounts the story of the mine, which began in the 1920s when the English company Trepca Mines Limited built its first buildings and began ore extraction. Ibrahimi recalls that the miners themselves started collecting crystals, marking the early beginnings of the museum, which was officially established in 1964 in what was known as the “English Neighborhood.” Although the original facility no longer exists, the museum’s heritage has been preserved in this building since 2012, under the care of the Ministry of Economy, which manages the mining and mineral sector.
Hundreds of samples line the museum’s shelves: quartz in large, bright crystals; minerals like galena and sphalerite that reflect Trepça’s industrial wealth; barite with its yellow hues; pyrrhotite that resembles living metal; and fluorite that changes color depending on the light.
Among the most unique exhibits is galena, the mineral used to extract lead. One piece has a circular shape with a hollow center; its forms and cuts make it resemble a miniature city.
But to truly understand the importance of this museum, we must go back in time.
Trepça was the industrial heart of Kosovo. During the Yugoslav era — the mine’s most glorious period — it was a key pillar of the Yugoslav industrial chain and one of the country’s main strategic assets. Trepça was among the largest mining complexes in Europe, producing over 1.6 million tons of ore per year. It accounted for roughly 70% of Yugoslavia’s mineral wealth, making Kosovo a major mining center in the Balkans. For this reason, it was often called the “economic giant” of the country. Its exports reached international markets, and minerals extracted from Trepça can still be found today in prestigious museums, from former Yugoslav countries to Tokyo.
Beyond industrial production, Trepça had a significant social and cultural impact, employing thousands of Albanian and Serbian citizens. The miners of this same mine were also at the forefront of Kosovo’s civil resistance. When the Constitution of 1974 and Kosovo’s autonomy were put at stake, the Trepça miners, often called the “saints of industrialization,” were among the first to defend it.
Today, although its capacities are no longer what they once were, the legacy of Trepça lives on through museums like the one in Stan Terg, where the natural beauty of the mine has been transformed into a cultural and touristic asset.
In addition to welcoming around 10,000 visitors a year, the Crystal Museum also serves as a research center. Researchers from different countries collect samples, take measurements, and use their findings for scientific studies.
Outside the museum, visitors encounter two old mine wagons, illustrating how ore was transported underground for decades. In another area, tools from the mine’s various horizons are on display: obsolete equipment and even iron helmets from the English period now look like relics from another era.
And when evening falls, the iron doors close and the lights go out, the crystals continue to shine silently, standing as timeless witnesses, untouched by the years that have passed outside.
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- This story was originally written in Albanian.