7
Mining settlement known since 1517 as Jáchymov won in 1520 the status of a
free royal mining town. After several years, the district became soon one of the most
important producers of silver on the continent.
In 1520 a mint was set up in Jáchymov; the coins that were minted here were
called by the German name “thaler”, later “tolar” (Fig.  4). Not many people are
aware that the dollar, probably the most popular currency in the world, derived its
name from an ancient silver coin from Jáchymov.
At the time of Jáchymov’s flourishing, the town attracted a number of then very
important personalities, among whom was doctor Georg Bauer (1494–1555), better
known by his Latin name Georgius Agricola (Fig. 5a). He was a reputable renaissance scholar from neighbouring Saxony. After studying at the University of
Leipzig, he continued to study medicine in Bologna, Venice and Padua. Agricola
was initially drawn to the mines of Jáchymov, intending to discover medical drugs
from the ore. Later he abandoned the idea and fully devoted his time to visiting the
town’s mines and smelters.
The mining in the Ore Mountains, separating Bohemia and Saxony, had been
going on since the 1200s. Later, as of 1470 silver mining began very profitable and
contributed to the wealth and prominence of the area. At the beginning of 1500,
Fig. 3 The location of Jáchymov in the Ore Mountains (Erzgebirge) on the border between what
is now the Czech Republic and Germany
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