JÁCHYMOV – gateway to the Ore Mountains

The political district of Jáchymov existed only briefly, from 1949 to 1951. However, it followed the earlier administrative development of the region, which began in 1849 with the establishment of the judicial district and was significantly influenced by the events of the Second World War.

The oldest genuine public pharmacy on the territory of today’s Czech Republic was not established in Prague, Brno or Klatovy, but in Jáchymov. And the difference is not just a matter of a few years – the Jáchymov pharmacy preceded the others by an entire century.

The mining tradition of the Ore Mountains did not begin with the silver boom of the sixteenth century. Its roots reach deep into prehistory. Only with the founding of Jáchymov, however, did the region become one of Europe’s most important mining centres.

The history of Jáchymov is inseparably linked with mining and metallurgy. Alongside the mines and smelters, however, other branches of production gradually developed – from lace-making and glove manufacture to uranium colours and the state tobacco factory. For centuries, the town lived not only from mining but from a diverse industrial activity shaped by local needs and historical change.

The coat of arms of Jáchymov, its name and the choice of its patrons are not accidental. They reflect the political realities of the sixteenth century, the mining tradition and the spiritual foundations of the town. From the family arms of the Schlik to royal symbols and the figures of Saint Joachim and Saint Anne, everything forms a coherent whole that has survived to this day.

Answered prayers obtained through the intercession of the Holy Mother of God of Mariánská. Collected by the Capuchin Father Franziskus Seraph in Jáchymov in 1902.

In the booklet, the word verloben frequently appears. In this context, it means to vow, to promise, or to undertake a pilgrimage as an act of devotion or thanksgiving.

The history of education in Jáchymov reaches back to the very beginnings of the town in the early sixteenth century. From the renowned Latin School to the world’s first mining academy and today’s modern primary school, education here developed over centuries into a system of significance far beyond the region.

The naming of the streams flowing through Jáchymov has been inconsistent for centuries. Historical maps, modern online sources and official institutions often use different names. Nevertheless, the hydrological structure of the main watercourses can be clearly described.

Joachim Andreas von Schlik, one of the leading representatives of the Bohemian Revolt, was executed in 1621 in Prague’s Old Town Square. The fate of his remains – from public display to repeated transfers and final burial in the family crypt – reflects the dramatic political upheavals of seventeenth-century Bohemia and the enduring effort to preserve family honour.

In the early modern period, coin production was a technically demanding and strictly supervised process involving up to two hundred workers in major mints. The mint in Jáchymov became a highly organised operation whose products – above all the thaler – achieved European significance.