FOUNDATION OF THE SETTLEMENT
Introduction
The area of present-day Jáchymov was not uninhabited before 1516. In the 13th and 14th centuries, small settlements were founded here as part of the colonisation activities of the Teplá monastery. Around 1300, chronicles mention a meadow with a mill, four houses and an iron hammer at the confluence of two streams in what is now the spa district, approximately at today’s roundabout. This settlement was called Konradsgrünn, named in honour of Conrad of Wohlsburg, administrator of the then East Franconian March. Other known settlements included Hanau (Hagenau) on the site of present-day Suchá, Pfaffengrün and the watchtower Braunstein on the rocky outcrop now known as Dívčí skok.
At the beginning of the 16th century, however, these were mostly deserted settlements; only Pfaffengrün remained inhabited. The territory belonged to the minor rural nobility of the Knights of Kfel, the Lords of Hazlov, the Royal Chamber and the Ostrov branch of the Schlik family. It was the Schliks who first registered reports of accidental discoveries of silver “beneath the turf,” that is, near the surface. They were also influenced by extensive ore mining on the Saxon side of the Ore Mountains. They began systematically purchasing land and consolidating their holdings in the area. The Schliks represented a new type of enterprising nobility striving for economic development and increased revenues.
The First Adits and the Beginning of Mining
In 1510, miners Kašpar Bach from Geyer and Oesser of Ostrov, known as the Elder, drove the oldest known adit in the area of present-day Jáchymov in the presence of a mining clerk. The All Saints’ Adit, later called the Discovery Adit, struck a rich silver vein named Fundgrübner after only two Jáchymov fathoms (1 fathom = 1.917 metres).
Štěpán Schlik therefore formed a consortium with Jan Pluh of Rabštejn, Wolf of Schönberg, Hans Thumshirn of Annaberg, Count Alexander Leissnik and Heinrich von Könneritz to establish a new mining settlement and open mines. In 1516, the settlement of Thal – simply “Valley” – was founded. It was an extremely costly undertaking. Capital was provided not only by the consortium members but also by the Fugger banking house of Nuremberg and the Welser family of Augsburg, who had financed voyages such as those of Christopher Columbus. In return, they received shares in the profits and contracts for the sale of silver on Saxon financial markets.
Rapid Expansion
By autumn 1516, the settlement already had 40 houses, a smelter with four furnaces and five mines. The population numbered 105, including 22 miners. Confirmation of rich silver deposits triggered a silver rush comparable to the gold rushes of the United States in the late 19th century. Experienced miners arrived from Saxony, Kutná Hora and other regions of Bohemia and Germany. Silver occurred near the surface, both as ore with purity up to 60% and in wire form.
In 1517, 211 miners worked in 47 mines. By 1518, there were 400 houses and 104 mines employing 468 miners. The Schliks established the first school and founded a brewery. They also had a Mining Code of 106 articles printed in Nuremberg. For its time, it was revolutionary, as it addressed issues such as occupational injuries.
By 1519, there were 228 mines with 1,026 miners. That same year, the famous Latin School Library was founded. Of its holdings, 232 books survive today, including 52 printed before 1500 – European incunabula. The library served not only students but also physicians, mining officials and entrepreneurs.
The Path to Town Status and Minting Rights
In 1518, the Schliks concluded a contract in Nuremberg with financiers Jakob Welser and Jan Nützel for the sale of silver at a price of 8 guilders and 15 kreuzers per ounce, indicating their original intention to export raw silver.
The decisive year was 1520. On 6 January, King Louis II elevated Thal to town status and granted it the name Valley of Saint Joachim. The choice of patron was deliberate, as Saint Joachim was the only member of the Holy Family not yet honoured with a town in the Ore Mountains. The town received rights of craft, trade, brewing and malting, two annual fairs, a Saturday market, the right to use a red seal and a coat of arms.
On 9 January, the king confirmed the Mining Code and granted the Schliks the right to purchase and mint silver. In doing so, he relinquished a significant royal prerogative, achieved through pressure and substantial bribery of the estates.
Peak and Challenges
The physician Georg Agricola described a magnificent town covering forty hectares with 1,800 stone houses. In reality, many dwellings were modest huts of miners and smelter workers.
The massive influx of people brought not only expertise and capital but also thieves, prostitutes, swindlers and beggars. Conditions were complicated and dangerous after dark. The Schliks responded by establishing a town guard, expelling prostitutes and introducing a so-called “dry hour,” but these measures proved largely ineffective.
The migration of labour threatened other mining districts. Therefore, in 1520, the Schliks concluded an agreement on miners’ wages with other mine owners in the Ore Mountains and the Slavkov Forest. This agreement became one of the causes of the miners’ unrest in the years 1521–1525.
