Schlaggenwald (Horní Slavkov) offers travelers several perspectives on history: mining, sacred architecture and rural everyday life. At the same time, Horní Slavkov lies in the northern half of the Slavkovský les (Kaiserwald) Protected Landscape Area. This places cultural history and a protected natural landscape alongside one another as distinct themes for a trip.
Mining Town and Historical Development
At the beginning of the 13th century, a new mining colony was established near an older miners’ settlement. Following an influx of miners from Saxony, it developed into the small town of Horní Slavkov around 1335. In 1547, the town was granted the status of a royal mining town. The approximate date of around 1335 and the specific year 1547 mark two distinct stages in this development.
Museums and Everyday History
The Ležnický open-air museum is located in the renovated former farmhouse “U Weiglů” in Ležnice, house number 810. Its exhibits include historic living quarters, a primary school classroom and an exhibition of agricultural machinery. The historic living quarters make the home a subject, the classroom points to daily school life, and the machinery exhibition to agricultural work. The exhibition thus goes beyond mining history and offers a glimpse of living, learning and working.
The Muzeum Horní Slavkov is housed in a converted building at 211 Pluhova Street.
Water Engineering and Mining
The Dlouhá stoka is an artificial water channel that was extensively rebuilt from 1531 to 1536. Above Horní Slavkov, it formed a water system with side channels and several ponds that enabled mining facilities in the district to operate. Timber was also floated along the channel to supply the mines. The Kašpars Pluh drainage adit had a different purpose: it drained the historic silver and tin mining district. Together, these examples show different technical aspects of mining—the water system and timber transport on the one hand, and drainage on the other.
Church and Historic Monument Area
The Church of St. George features defensive elements, including three towers with loopholes. Loopholes are openings in fortifications; their mention draws attention to the church’s defensive features. Together with the cemetery, cemetery wall, bell tower and deanery building, the church forms a historic monument area in Horní Slavkov. The defensive features of the church building and the broader monument area can thus be considered as different scales of architectural history.
The Uranová Golgota Educational Trail
The Uranová Golgota educational trail presents the mining history of Horní Slavkov and the surrounding area, particularly uranium mining in the 1950s. A description of the trail published in 2020 notes that the route information may no longer be up to date. Please check it before setting out.
More Destinations
Discover more destinations: Unterneugrün, Schindlwald, Königsberg A. D. Eger, Lanz, Zwodau, Douglasgrün, Maria Kulm, Josefsdorf
Back to the main travel overview: Falkenau An Der Eger District.
