page_title: Ore Mountains
section_title: Economic history
hierarchical_section_title: Ore Mountains / History / Economic history
caption_attribution_description: English: Louis Krauss Metalware Factory Schwarzenberg, ca. 1910. Deutsch: Metallwaren-Fabrik Louis Krauss Schwarzenberg, ca. 1910.
context_page_description: The Ore Mountains or Ore Mountain Range in Central Europe have formed a natural border between Saxony and Bohemia for around 800 years, from the 12th to the 20th centuries. Today, the border between Germany and the Czech Republic runs just north of the main crest of the mountain range. The highest peaks are the Klínovec, which rises to 1,244 metres above sea level and the Fichtelberg.
  The area played an important role in contributing Bronze Age ore, and as the setting of the earliest stages of the early modern transformation of mining and metallurgy from a craft to a large-scale industry, a process that preceded and enabled the later Industrial Revolution.
  In 2019 the region became a UNESCO World Heritage site.
context_section_description: Europe's earliest mining district appears to be located in Erzgebirge, dated to 2500 BC. From there tin was traded north to the Baltic Sea and south to the Mediterranean following the Amber Road trading route, of great importance in the Bronze Age. Tin mining knowledge spread to other European tin mining districts from Erzgebirge and evidence of tin mining begins to appear in Brittany, Devon and Cornwall, and in the Iberian Peninsula around 2000 BC. These deposits saw greater exploitation when they fell under Roman control between the third century BC and the first century AD. Demand for tin created a large and thriving network amongst Mediterranean cultures of Classical times. By the Medieval period, Iberia's and Germany's deposits lost importance and were largely forgotten while Devon and Cornwall began dominating the European tin market.
  From the time of the first wave of settlement, the history of the Ore Mountains has been heavily influenced by its economic development, especially that of the mining industry.
  Settlement in the Ore Mountains was slow to begin with, especially on the Bohemian side. The harsh climate and short growing seasons hindered the cultivation of agricultural products. Nevertheless, settlements were supported by the aristocratic Hrabischitz family and established mainly at the foot of the mountains and along mountain streams into the deep woods.
  In 1168, as a result of settlement in the early 12th century at the northern edge of the Ore Mountains, the first silver ore was discovered in the vicinity of present-day Freiberg, resulting in the First Berggeschrey or mining rush. Almost simultaneously, the first tin ore was discovered on the southern edge of the mountains in Bohemia.
  In the 13th century, colonization of the mountains took place only sporadically along the Bohemian Way (antiqua Bohemiae semita). It was here that Sayda was built, a station on the trade route from Freiberg via Einsiedl, Johnsdorf and Brüx to Prague. In Sayda it joined the so-called salt road that ran from Halle via Oederan and onto Prague. Glass-making was introduced into the region from the second half of the 13th century. The emergence of this branch of trade benefited from the abundance of excess timber, which was created by clearings and new settlements and which was able to meet the high demand of the glassworks. Monks from Waldsassen Abbey brought a knowledge of the glass manufacture to the Ore Mountains. Most glassworks were located in the vicinity of Moldau, Brandau and the Frauenbach valley. The oldest glassworks site is Ulmbach. This timber-hungry industry lost its importance, however, with the boom in mining, which also enjoyed royal patronage.
  Mining on the Bohemian side of the mountains probably began in the 14th century. An indication of this is a contract between Boresch of Riesenburg and the Ossegg abbot, Gerwig, in which the division of revenue derived from ore was agreed. Grains of tin (Zinnkörner or Graupen) were obtained at that time in the Seiffen mining area and gave the Bohemian mining town of Graupen (Czech Krupka) its name.
  With the further settlement of the Ore Mountains in the 15th century, new, rich, ore deposits were eventually discovered around Schneeberg Annaberg and St. Joachimsthal. The Second Berggeschrey started and triggered a massive wave of colonization. In quick succession, new, planned, mining towns were built across the Ore Mountains in the vicinity of newly discovered ore deposits. Typical examples are the towns of Marienberg, Oberwiesenthal, Gottesgab (Boží Dar), Sebastiansberg (Hora Sv. Šebestiána) and Platten (Horní Blatná). Economically, however, only silver and tin ores were used. From that time, the wealth of Saxony was built on the silver mines of the Ore Mountains. As a metal used for coinage, silver was minted on site in the mountain towns into money. The Joachimsthaler coins, minted in the valley of Joachimsthal, became famous and gave their name to the medieval coin known as the Thaler from which the word "dollar" is derived. After the end of the Hussite Wars, the econ
caption: The metalware factory of Louis Krauss, founded in 1887, in Schwarzenberg/Erzgeb. had developed by the time of German reunification into one of the most important production facilities for washing machines in Eastern Europe.
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