Krusne Hory Mining Landscape

The Ore Mountains were mined for silver, tin and other ores from the Middle Ages onward, and the listed sites are spread along the Czech side of the ridge rather than gathered in one place. Jachymov is the natural starting point: silver from its valley was struck into coins called Joachimsthaler, shortened over time to thaler and eventually to dollar. Around it sit adit mouths, shaft buildings, ore-washing sites, water channels cut to drive mine machinery, and towns laid out to a mining plan with steep streets and a church at the top. Some mines are open for underground tours in helmets and coats; others are simply marked openings in the forest that a trail passes.

What you actually see

• Jachymov - the steep silver-mining town whose coins gave the world the word dollar.
• The mine tours - guided descents into historic adits with helmets and lamps at several sites.
• The water channels - engineered ditches and ponds built to power mine machinery on the ridge.
• The ridge towns - Bozi Dar, Abertamy and Horni Blatna, laid out around mining rather than farming.

When to go

May to September for walking between sites and for the underground tours, which mostly run seasonally and often only on set days. The ridge is high and gets a real winter, which turns the area into cross-country skiing country instead. Check opening days before driving out, since several mines open only at weekends.

Honest expectations

This is a dispersed landscape rather than a single attraction, and without a car it is close to impossible to see properly. Interpretation in English is thin. The mining towns are working places with plenty of shabby postwar building alongside the heritage, and the main road along the border has a cheap commercial strip.

Nearby

Karlovy Vary lies below the ridge to the south, and the Bozi Dar peat bog trail runs along the top.