Jáchymov

Villages of Mariánská, Nové Město, Suchá and Vršek are administrative parts of Jáchymov.

Silver mining in Jáchymov, 1548

The Svornost mine, the oldest mine still in use in Europe

Jáchymov, Republic Square

At the beginning of the 16th century, silver was found in the area, and the village of Jáchymov was founded in 1516 under its German name Joachimsthal. Štěpán Schlick was the founder of Jáchymov. The silver caused the population to grow rapidly, and made the counts Schlick, whose possessions included the town, one of the richest families in Bohemia.

The Schlicks had coins minted, which were called Joachimsthalers. They gave their name to the Thaler and the dollar.

The fame of Jáchymov for its ore mining and smelting works attracted the scientific attention of the doctor Georg Bauer (better known by the Latin form of his name, Georgius Agricola) in the late 1527–1531, who based his pioneering metallurgical studies on his observations made here.[5]

In 1523, the Protestant Reformation began. In the Schmalkaldic War (1546–47) Jáchymov was occupied for a time by Saxon troops. When in 1621 the Counter-reformation and re-Catholicisation took effect in the town, many Lutheran citizens and people from the mountains migrated to nearby Saxon White Serbia.[6]

Following the Silesian Wars until 1918, the town was in the Austrian part of the Dual Monarchy of Austria-Hungary, head of the district with the same name, one of the 94 Bezirkshauptmannschaften in Bohemia.[7]

In the 19th century the town was also the location of a Court, and of an administrative office responsible for mines and iron production. Mining was still significant in this period. It was run partly by state-owned and partly by privately owned companies. In addition to silver ore (of which in 1885 227 zentners (11.35 tonnes) were produced), nickel, bismuth and uranium ore were also extracted. There were also other industries: an enormous tobacco factory employed 1,000 women. In addition, there was the manufacture of gloves and corks and of bobbin lace. On 31 March 1873 the town almost entirely burnt down.

At the end of the 19th century Maria Skłodowska-Curie discovered in uraninite spoil dump from Jáchymov ore containing the element radium, for which she won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Until World War I this was the foremost source of radium in the world.[8]

Kingdom of Bohemia, Jáchymovský tolar 1525. Obverse, picturing St Joachim.

In 1929, Dr Löwy of Prague discovered that "mysterious emanations" in the mine led to a form of cancer. Ventilation and watering measures were introduced, miners were given higher pay and longer vacations, but death rates remained high.[9]

Following the Munich Agreement in 1938, Joachimstal was annexed by Nazi Germany as part of the so-called Sudetenland. Most of the German population was expelled in 1945–1946 (see the Potsdam Agreement) and replaced by Czechs from other parts of the country.

Mining in uranium mines took place here between 1939 and 1964, for nuclear projects of Nazis and Communists facilities. It was proven that the uranium mined here was used in the German nuclear weapons program in their ultimately unsuccessful quest to build a nuclear reactor.[10] In times of Nazi occupation and Communism large prison camps were established in the town and around it. Soviet prisoners of war first worked here, and after 1948 political and other prisoners. Opponents of the new regime (Stalinism) were forced to mine uranium ore under very harsh conditions: the average life expectancy in Jáchymov at this period was 42 years. Uranium mining ceased in 1964.

The mines today (with the exception of Svornost) are no longer in operation and, for example, in the Eduard mine complex there is now a sports complex with a biathlon shooting range. The radioactive thermal springs which arise in the Svornost mine are used under the supervision of doctors for the treatment of patients with nervous and rheumatic disorders. They make use of the constantly produced radioactive gas radon (²²²Rn) dissolved in the water, see Radon therapy.

Agricola Spa Centre

Radium Palace

In 1864, a spring of radon water was discovered in Jáchymov. Worlds first radon spa was founded here in 1906, joining the famous spas of the region, including Karlovy Vary, Františkovy Lázně, and Mariánské Lázně.[11]

The spa is one of the most unique spas in the world. The uniqueness lies in the extraordinary healing effects of tens of thousands of years old natural water with the highest concentration of radon in Europe, thanks to which it even pays for the most effective spa in Europe.[11]

Musculoskeletal system is treated here with radon bath. The treatment focuses mainly on joint diseases, neurological diseases, skin diseases, and ankylosing spondylitis. The radon baths further improve conditions of patients with diabetes or gout and conditions after injuries and operations.[12]

The Ostrov nad Ohří – Jáchymov railway line was in operation in 1896–1957. Buses now provide regular connections via Ostrov to Karlovy Vary. Since 2005, Jáchymov have one line of town bus transport MHD-1.

There is several ski lifts, downhill and cross-country trails. The town has the only year-round water park in the Ore Mountains.

Church of St. Joachim

Town hall

Royal Mint Jáchymov Museum

• Church of St. Joachim, the first Lutheran church in the Bohemian Kingdom from 1540, after 1624 a Roman Catholic church
• Jáchymov Town Hall from 1544
• Royal Mint Jáchymov Museum, which now houses the town museum
• Church of All Saints, the oldest preserved building in the town (1516)
• Holy Trinity Column from 1703
• Statue of St. John of Nepomuk is the baroque statue from 1730.
• Latin school library – unique library of the Latin school from the 16th century
• Schlick Castle – remains of the youngest castle in the Czech Republic
• Town and patrician houses are Gothic and Renaissance houses with unique Czech set of portals
• Jáchymov pharmacy – the oldest pharmacy in Central Europe from 1520.
• Svornost Mine – the first radium mine in the world
• Peter's Mill – remains of the oldest watermill in the Czech Republic
• Monument to the Discovery of Radium from 1950
• Agricola Spa Centre – the oldest spa building, built in 1906–1911[5]
• Radium Palace Hotel – Neoclassical spa hotel from 1912

From the valley of river Veseřice a chairlift goes to the highest mountain in the Ore Mountains Klínovec (1,244 m (4,081 ft)), which peak is in the municipal territory.

• Georgius Agricola (1494–1555), town doctor and chemist, the "Father of Mineralogy"
• Johannes Mathesius (1504–1565), German minister and a Lutheran reformer

Jáchymov is twinned with:[13]

• Schneeberg, Germany

• Kutná Hora – another Bohemian silver mining town

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Jáchymov.

• Official website (in Czech)
• Historical photographs (in Czech)
• Historical photographs (portions of the above site in English)