Bozi Dar
The highest town in Central Europe at 1028 metres, on a plateau of peat bogs with the darkest sky in the country.
Updated 19 October 2026
Bozi Dar - God's Gift - sits at 1028 metres on the Ore Mountains plateau against the German border and is the highest town in Central Europe. It was founded in the 1530s on silver and tin mining and the name comes from the strike; the mining is part of the Ore Mountains UNESCO mining landscape inscribed in 2019. Around the town lie raised peat bogs, and the Bozidarske raseliniste nature trail runs across one on a boardwalk, the largest such bog complex in the range. A local initiative, Krusnohorska tma, has been working since 2021 toward dark-sky protection for this part of the range, and the plateau has among the least light-polluted skies in the country, with viewing sites marked. In winter it is a cross-country skiing centre on the plateau trails, and it is reliably the coldest inhabited place in Bohemia, which the town advertises rather than apologises for.
History
Both the German name Gottesgab and the Czech Boží Dar mean "God's gift", words said to be those of the town's founder, the Elector John Frederick I of Saxony, about the local silver. Silver and tin mining began around 1517 in this remote corner of the Saxon barony of Schwarzenberg, and John Frederick, who acquired the lordship in 1533, founded the mining town by decree; after his defeat at Mühlberg in 1547 he had to cede it, with neighbouring Horní Blatná, to the Bohemian crown. Mining peaked in the 1550s and 1560s, when the town had more than 2,000 people, and in 1580 Rudolf II made it a royal mining town. It was looted several times in the Thirty Years' War, and plundered by the Swedish army in 1643; as mining declined in the 17th and 18th centuries it became a mountain town living by home crafts. Its old town privileges, lost in the 1950s, were restored in 2006 (Wikipedia, Boží Dar).
Highlights
- The highest town in Central Europe - 1028 metres on the border plateau.
- A peat bog boardwalk - the largest bog complex in the Ore Mountains.
- Genuinely dark skies - among the least light-polluted in the country, with marked viewing sites.
- Mining heritage - part of the Ore Mountains landscape inscribed in 2019.
When to go
June to September, or the ski season. A day.
Good to know
It is genuinely cold and windy, and snow lies late. The town is small and geared to skiers. Dark-sky viewing needs a clear moonless night. Stay on the bog boardwalk.
Nearby
Klinovec is east; Jachymov and its radon spa are below.
Key facts
Source: Wikidata, item Q896422, read on 18 October 2026.
What to pack for Bozi Dar
Chosen from what this place is for. Tap a kit for the full checklist.
- Broken-in walking shoes or boots - Grip and ankle support matter more than looks; never hike in brand-new boots. Find on Amazon
- Spare batteries + cards - Cold and long shoots drain power; never run out at the good light. Find on Amazon
- Warm base layers - Merino or synthetic against the skin - never cotton, which chills when damp. Find on Amazon
- Comfortable walking shoes - Sightseeing means kilometres of pavement and cobbles daily. Find on Amazon
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