The cultural monument of the Barbora smelter is the most significant and complete technical monument of the older era of blast furnace pig iron production in the Czech lands, but also in Europe. It is the last preserved Walloon furnace.

The construction of the Barbora charcoal kiln began in 1805, when Count Rudolf Vrbna purchased the Jinec estate and began its construction. The Barbora blast furnace was built over almost five years.

The ironworks remained in operation from 1810 to 1874, when, like other ironworks, it succumbed to competition from modern metallurgy. In 1886, a waterwheel-powered sawmill was set up in the rear wing of the building, which remained in operation until 1951.

Between 1951 and 2017, the steelworks was used by various companies for various purposes. Examples include a dormitory, hay storage, landfill, etc. The building was left to its own devices and slowly fell into disrepair.

At the end of 2017, the Town of Jince decided to purchase the Barbora Ironworks from the private owner and in 2019, the ironworks purchased a new roof, which prevented further destruction of the monument.

In 2020, a project to save this monument was developed in cooperation with the Orlov Ecological Center. This project was approved and launched on April 15, 2021.