STATE TOBACCO FACTORY
Economic Crisis and Establishment
At the beginning of the 19th century, widespread unemployment affected the entire Ore Mountains region. In Jáchymov, the situation was intensified by declining silver mining and the closure of numerous mining operations. Municipal authorities therefore sought ways to create new jobs. One of the proposals, put forward by Mayor Ignaz Porkert, was to establish a tobacco processing factory. At that time, only one such factory existed within the Austro-Hungarian Empire, located in Sedlec near Kutná Hora.
The town offered land in a side valley known as the Zeileisen estate. Previously, a red lead factory had operated there, recorded on a town map drawn by Dean Böhm in 1835. Porkert’s initiative coincided with a government decision in Vienna in 1852 to address unemployment in the Ore Mountains and the Giant Mountains through special subsidies and support measures.
The official request to establish the factory was submitted on 7 February 1851 to the Imperial-Royal District Authority. Approval was granted on 6 April 1856. Construction, designed by the local builder Franz Siegel, followed a U-shaped ground plan measuring 95 × 47 metres. The building was completed in July 1860, and cigar production began on 3 November of the same year.
Early Production and Workforce
Initially, 30 female workers were employed at individual worktables. As early as 17 November 1860, the first 1,500 cigars were released for sale. However, many local women were accustomed to working from home and were reluctant to join factory employment. Only in 1863 did an official directive require the provision of sufficient labour.
In 1867, the production of smoking tobacco was introduced. By 1870, the factory faced a critical labour shortage and employed twelve adolescent boys at a wage of 20 kreuzers per day. A factory school was established for them, jointly funded by the town and the state.
Expansion and Modernisation
When Jáchymov was devastated by a catastrophic fire in 1873, factory employees and officials were temporarily housed in production halls. In 1882, cigarette production began, with tobacco supplied from a factory in Ljubljana. In 1895, a warehouse measuring 36 × 16 metres was added.
Production was initially entirely manual. In 1870, a water turbine drive was introduced, along with the construction of a water supply system. In 1899, a motor drive was installed, and in 1903 electric lighting was introduced. The factory reached its peak workforce in 1912, employing 1,174 people, approximately 1,000 of whom were women.
In 1927, a four-storey residential building for officials was added. In 1941, the company Vereinigte Sudetenländische Zigarrenfabriken “Deter, Halank, Müller” KG constructed its own boiler house and applied for permission to build a freight elevator.
Wartime Production
In 1943, tobacco production ceased. The premises were taken over by Metallwarenfabrik St. Joachimsthal Deter KG, which began armaments production on 1 May 1943. Machinery was relocated from areas threatened by Allied air raids. To operate the machines, a 22 kV power line was constructed from the “Saxon Nobility” adit. Because the machines required alternating current while the factory power plant produced direct current, a transformer station was built.
Post-War Development
After the Second World War, tobacco production was not resumed, and the factory was formally liquidated in 1946. The premises served as a collection point for expelled German inhabitants. Subsequently, the General Directorate of the Jáchymov Mines moved into the complex.
In a smaller four-storey building, a central vacuum-tube computer of the American Hollerith brand was installed to manage material records for the entire Jáchymov mining enterprise. The computer and its air-conditioning system occupied the entire building. The rear part of the complex housed garages and central workshops for the repair of mining equipment.
After uranium mining ceased, the premises were used by the Tosta knitting works from Aš and later by a branch of TESLA Karlín producing telephone exchanges. After 1989, several other companies operated there. In recent years, the site functioned partly as housing for socially disadvantaged residents, and since 1996 a production company named VJB had been active there.
Railway Connection
The factory was connected by a siding to the railway station and the line to Ostrov. In the early years of operation, it was the main freight customer, particularly for coal deliveries. The terrain cut of the former railway siding remains clearly visible behind the Cultural Centre building.
Demolition
In 2024, the factory buildings were demolished to make way for residential development.
Photo gallery: http://mipalfi.rajce.idnes.cz/Tabakova_tovarna/
