Abertamy (german: Abertham) is a town in

Karlovy Vary District Karlovy Vary District or Carlsbad District ( cs, okres Karlovy Vary) is a district (''okres'') within the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic. Its administrative center is Karlovy Vary. List of municipalities Abertamy - Andělská Hora - ...

in the

Karlovy Vary Region The Karlovy Vary Region or Carlsbad Region ( cs, Karlovarský kraj, German: ''Karlsbader Region'') is an administrative unit ( cs, kraj) of the Czech Republic, located in the westernmost part of its historical region of Bohemia. It is named after ...

of the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

. It has about 900 inhabitants. The town is known as a winter sports centre.

Administrative parts

The village of Hřebečná is the administrative part of Abertamy.

Geography

Abertamy is located about north of

Karlovy Vary Karlovy Vary (; german: Karlsbad, formerly also spelled ''Carlsbad'' in English) is a spa city in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 46,000 inhabitants. It lies on the confluence of the rivers Ohře and Teplá. It is n ...

. It lies in the Ore Mountains. The highest point of the municipal territory is the summit of one of the highest mountains of the mountain range, Plešivec with an altitude of .

History

Miners started to settle in the area between 1525 and 1529. The first written mention of Abertamy is from 1529. In 1579, Abertamy was promoted to royal mining town by Emperor

Rudolf II Rudolf II (18 July 1552 – 20 January 1612) was Holy Roman Emperor (1576–1612), King of Hungary and Croatia (as Rudolf I, 1572–1608), King of Bohemia (1575–1608/1611) and Archduke of Austria (1576–1608). He was a member of the Ho ...

. On 15 September 1590, a strong earthquake was recorded here.

Silver Silver is a chemical element with the symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical ...

mining gradually declined, especially during the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of batt ...

, when it ended in 1622. Only the mining of tin continued. Abertamy lost its town rights, and the area was forcibly recatholicized after the war. In the mid-19th century manufacturing of

glove A glove is a garment covering the hand. Gloves usually have separate sheaths or openings for each finger and the thumb. If there is an opening but no (or a short) covering sheath for each finger they are called fingerless gloves. Fingerless g ...

s began and expanded in the 20th century. In 1876 Abertamy obtained the town status again. In the 1930s, 98% of the population of Abertamy were ethnic Germans. The town was annexed by

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

in 1938 and in 1938–1945 it was one of the

municipalities in Sudetenland The list below gives German names and Czech names of towns along with county names and other information in the Sudetenland from World War I through the era of World War II known as interwar Czechoslovakia. Southern Sudetenland {, class="wi ...

. In 1945 many German speaking people were expelled and local industry was nationalised. However roughly 150,000 of three million Sudeten Germans in the surrounding region were not expelled due to their indispensable mining and technical skills. A large German-speaking minority remained here until the 2000s, but it is gradually disappearing. Intensive mining of uranium ore had started in the area after the World War II. There used to be two shafts in Abertamy. In 1998 the factory producing gloves closed down.

Demographics

Sport

The area is actively used for winter and summer sports. There is a large modern ski resort on the slopes of the mountain Plešivec. It has eight downhill courses and nine ski lifts.

Sights

The most valuable monument in Abertamy is Mauritius Mine, which is remains of the largest tin mine in the Ore Mountains. It was in operation from the 16th century to the 1940s. Today it is a national cultural monument and, since 2019, it has been a

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international coope ...

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...

as a part of the Ore Mountain Mining Region. It is open to the public. Červená jáma, which is the largest depression after mining activities in the country, is also a part of the protected area of the mine. The Church of Fourteen Holy Helpers was built in the late Gothic style in 1534. In 1735–1738, it was baroque rebuilt. It was modified to its present form in the first half of the 19th century.

Notable people

Horst Siegl Horst Siegl (born 15 February 1969) is a Czech former professional footballer who played as a striker. He played for Czechoslovakia and later Czech Republic, for both he played total 23 matches and scored 7 goals. He played two matches for th ...

(born 1969), footballer

Gallery

References

External links

Official website
{{authority control Cities and towns in the Czech Republic Populated places in Karlovy Vary District Towns in the Ore Mountains