ELIÁŠ MINE AND ELIÁŠ VALLEY NEAR JÁCHYMOV
Introduction
The first record of a mine in the Eliáš Valley near Jáchymov dates back to 1512. In 1526 a so-called Kehrrad, a reversible water wheel about 12.5 metres in diameter, was installed here. It powered pumping systems used for mine drainage as well as hoisting equipment. Such pumps were capable of lifting mine water from depths of around 190 metres and provided greater performance than the older horse-driven systems. To ensure a sufficient water supply, the Heinzen Teich reservoir was built on the Eliáš stream as an energy source for the mining machinery. The Elias mine, together with Rovnost, also appears on a map issued by the Military Geographical Institute in Prague in 1913.
Earlier mining
The Elias shaft followed an ore vein descending at an angle of roughly 60°, making it a so-called inclined shaft. It reached down to the level of the St Barbara hereditary adit. The original shaft was filled in during 1892, when the modernisation of the Rovnost mine reduced the importance of Elias.
Remains of silver mining from the 16th to 19th centuries are mainly found on the Hřeben ridge, where numerous collapse pits and small waste heaps survive. However, much of the earlier mining landscape was later destroyed or covered by intensive uranium mining in the 20th century.
Uranium era and camps
In 1946 more than 200 kilograms of uranium ore were discovered on the old waste heap of the Elias mine, fundamentally changing the future of the valley. A prisoner-of-war camp was first established here, and on 29 July 1949 it was replaced by the penal labour camp Elias I. A total of 647 prisoners were held there, 588 of whom worked in the mines. The camp was closed in 1951 after the new Elias II camp had been put into operation on 8 December 1950. The original camp stood on a waste heap that was later excavated for further processing of uranium material. Elias II was closed on 1 April 1959. Prisoners were used both in direct uranium mining and in associated industrial operations.
Mine operation
The Elias mine consisted of two shafts, Elias and Jiřina. Ore processing took place between 1948 and 1962 in a gravity processing plant, similar to those at Bratrství, Eduard, Vykmanov and Nejdek. Elias also hosted a central compressor station, known as “Turbo”, which supplied compressed air to the Elias, Adam, Eva and Rovnost II mines.
After 1962 the tailings pond of the processing plant was removed and uranium-bearing sludge transported to the processing facility at Mydlovary. The buildings of the plant, the mine and the Elias II camp were demolished as well. Today, the landscape preserves mainly remnants of settling ponds, the decaying compressor building and large waste heaps from the Elias, Eduard, Eva, Rovnost and other mines.
Memorial and present day
The period of labour camps, oppression and victims of the communist regime is commemorated by the Scout memorial cairn with a cross, erected on 30 May 1992 at the site of the former Elias camp. It honours scouts who were interned, executed or died after being forced to work in the uranium mines following the ban on their movement.
Since January 2019 the Eliáš Valley has been protected as a mining cultural heritage site. The protected area extends from the Heinzen reservoir to the Eliáš waterworks, and the Jáchymov Hell educational trail runs through the valley.
Photo gallery: https://mipalfi.rajce.idnes.cz/Jachymov%2C_Dul_Elias_a_Eliasske_udoli/
