Dravski zlatari iz Međimurja
Panning Gold on Drava River in Međimurje

Summary/Abstract: Panning-out gold has been a long tradition among inhabitants of several villages along the Drava. There is a document from the 17th. century which says that the Austrohungarian emperor Leopold took in 1671 from the treasury of Petar Zrinski 41,5 gold coins made from gold which had been panned from Drava. The empress Maria-Theresa gave in 1766 a charter to a family in Donji Vidovec by which they acquired rights to gold-panning. The same village organized a cooperative for panning gold and for agriculture in 1946. It lasted until 1953, the last year of organized panning from the Drava. Presently, only several families occasionally pan gold. It is a very difficult work, since it takes panning of about ten cubic meters of debris for three grams of gold. The construction of hydro-plants along the Drava decreased the amount of gold in the river, so that this interesting tradition will soon completely disappear.

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