Jáchymov is one of the most important historical Czech mining towns. In the 16th century, it became famous for its silver mining and the subsequent minting of silver coins called tolars (the name of the US currency, the dollar, is derived from these coins, which were a guarantee of quality currency in their time). The silver fever passed within a few decades, but mining activities continued - in addition to silver, lead, arsenic, cobalt, nickel, tin and pitch, which was used to color glass, were mined. And it was the pitch of Jáchymov in which the Curies discovered new elements in 1898 - polonium and radium. This discovery brought the town both bright (radon spas) and dark sides. Since the late 1940s, massive uranium mining has been taking place in the Jáchymov region for the needs of the USSR's weapons program. Political prisoners – muggles (a man designated for liquidation) – were also used in this mining, who worked and lived here in completely inadequate conditions (lack of food, poor equipment, no radiation protection, no medical care, etc.).
In the Tunnel Nr. 1
Among the monuments of silver and uranium mining are the area of adit No. 1 and the neighboring Svornost mine. Adit No. 1 was excavated as part of extensive exploration work by the former Jáchymov mines in 1952 - 1953. Its length is 230 m and one of the side corridors crosses the Evangelist silver vein, which was also mined in the past. Work to make the adit accessible took place in 2006 - 2008. The adit also has a small exhibition of mining equipment - mining carts, drills, etc. In 2012, it was also possible to clean and secure older mining works from the times of the silver rush at the turn of the 15th and 16th centuries.
Photo 1: Entrance to Tunnel No. 1
Photo 2-3: Tunnel No. 1