Establishment of the Judicial District
Shortly after the abolition of serfdom and the subsequent administrative reforms in the Habsburg Monarchy, new administrative units – judicial districts – were created in Bohemia. In 1849, the Judicial District of Jáchymov was proclaimed. It remained within the same boundaries until 20 November 1938.
On that day, the Jáchymov region was incorporated into the German Reich. Within the administrative unit Regierungsbezirk Sudeten, headed by Konrad Henlein, the district of Landkreis Sankt Joachimsthal was established on 21 November 1938. The administrative centre of the wider region was Aussig (Ústí nad Labem). On 1 May 1939, three parts of the abolished district of Preissnitz (Přísečnice) were attached to this Landkreis.
On 1 January 1945, the Regierungsbezirk Eger was created. Its seat was provisionally located in Karlovy Vary until the end of the Second World War. After the war, the Judicial District of Jáchymov was restored with slightly modified boundaries.
Establishment of the Political District
The Political District of Jáchymov was established on 1 January 1949. Its existence was very short, as it was abolished again on 1 January 1951 as part of another administrative reform. Together with the districts of Aš, Cheb, Kadaň, Karlovy Vary, Kraslice, Loket, Mariánské Lázně, Nejdek, Sokolov, Teplá and Žlutice, it formed the Karlovy Vary Region.
The district of Jáchymov covered an area of 209.58 km² and included three towns and thirty-three municipalities. At the time of its existence, it had 25,719 inhabitants.
Administrative Structure
The Political District of Jáchymov included three towns:
Sankt Joachimsthal – Jáchymov
Gottesgab – Boží Dar
Böhmisch Wiesenthal – Loučná pod Klínovcem
It also included the following municipalities, some of which no longer exist today:
Arletzgrün – Arnoldov (defunct municipality)
Damitz – Damice
Gesmesgrün – Osvinov
Holzbach – Plavno (defunct municipality)
Holzbachlehen – Léno (defunct municipality)
Honnersgrün – Hanušov (defunct municipality)
Hüttmesgrün – Vrch (defunct municipality)
Jokes – Jakubov
Lindig – Lípa near Merklín
Marletzgrün – Maroltov
Merkelsgrün – Merklín
Möritschau – Moříčov
Ober Brand – Horní Žďár
Permesgrün – Květnová
Pfaffengrün – Popov (defunct municipality)
Schönwald – Krásný Les
Seifen – Rýžovny
Stolzenhain – Háj
Tiefenbach – Hluboký
Ullersgrün – Oldříš near Merklín
Unter Brand – Dolní Žďár
Wickwitz – Vojkovice
Conclusion
Although the Political District of Jáchymov existed for only two years, it represents an interesting chapter in the administrative history of the region. It followed the long tradition of the judicial district established in the mid-nineteenth century and at the same time marked the end of the post-war experiments in territorial administration in western Bohemia.
