*An extended tour around the mining town Příbram (including the Svatá Hora pilgrimage site): 8 km*

• Ask Google which it thinks is the most important (or famous) Czech mining town and it will almost certainly answer: Kutná hora. Kutná hora probably wins first prize (for AI visitors) because the town’s accessible silver resources funded the dramatic rise in power and prestige of Bohemia in the 13th and 14th centuries. Add in the fact that its architecture and historical importance elevated Kutná hora onto the prestigious UNESCO World Heritage list, and the case appears closed.
• Push Google a little harder and it may offer alternatives like Jáchymov (for its importance in the history of uranium mining, its role in early radioactive research – Marie Curie – and the fact that its silver gave us the world’s most important currency – the dollar). Jáchymov is certainly a candidate…
• Google might also suggest Ostrava for the coal and iron resource which powered the Austro-Hungarian Empire in the 19th century, or even the town of Most for its huge 19th and 20th century lignite deposits (and for the fact the medieval town was controversially demolished in the 1960’s to make way for open-cast mining…).
• However, in this author’s opinion, the town of Příbram wins the race to be regarded as the most important Czech mining town. Why is that? Mainly because its mineral resources were far larger than its more ‘famous’ competitors: Příbram’s silver mines may have not have been that productive in the 13th century, but eventually delivered twice as much silver as Kutná hora.
• The amount of uranium ore mined in the hills around Příbram was five times larger than that dug out in Jáchymov. Příbram’s uranium could have powered the Czech Republic’s largest reactor (Temelín) for at least 150 years or – to provide a more controversial comparative – armed up to four thousand Hiroshima sized nuclear bombs.
• Unfortunately (and possibly the reason why Příbram is sometimes overlooked), all of these mineral resources were exploited primarily for the benefit of the powers that controlled Bohemia at the time. The Habsburgs in the case of the silver (Příbram produced over half of the Austro-Hungarian silver in the 19th century) and the Soviet Union in the case of the uranium. Without Příbram’s uranium ore, the Soviet bomb-making program in the 1950’s would likely have been significantly slowed (they would need to have relied exclusively on east German mines).
• Mining in Příbram was not just about silver and uranium. Important quantities of lead, zinc and antimony were also extracted. The last mine in the region closed in 2017. The history of this critical mining area is captured in the town’s excellent mining museum, which operates a number of sites, including the main silver mining area near the centre of town, as well as the important Vojna labour camp, next to the uranium mines – this is the subject of a separate walk, which is highly recommended.
• This lengthy mining history makes Příbram a fascinating place for a visit and for an extended walk around town. Příbram was clearly an attractive town in its pre-industrial period. Sadly, some of the town’s fine medieval and Renaissance architecture has been blighted by Communist era buildings and probably also by a lack of investment after the winding down of mining activities in the late 20th century. Příbram is certainly not a second Kutná hora (in terms of its architectural beauty) but that possibly makes discovering the hidden gems even more interesting.
• The route shown in the map below takes in Příbram’s most of the important sites, including the Renaissance-Baroque town fortress and also visits the Svatá Hora (‘Holy Mountain’) pilgrimage site, built on a hill overlooking the town. This majestic Baroque complex is probably the most famous pilgrimage site associated with the Virgin Mary in Bohemia.
• To the south of Svatá hora, the town has created an extensive park area, including an impressive water sports and swimming area in a large lake (map point 4). The walk through the residential district from the lake to the mining area demonstrates the progress that is now being made with redevelopment of this important town. One example of this is the emergence of some excellent boutique cafés, bistros and restaurants. Good examples include the small malejpodnik café-bistro located at map point 6 and Žárovka restaurant at map point 8.
• The suggested route is mostly on asphalt footpaths or pavements, apart from an easy forest section below the Svatá hora complex. The route can therefore be managed with a stroller, but note that it is not that flat with around 200m of height to ascend-descend over its 8 km length.

Note: click ‘Show on Mapy.com’  to go to a full screen version of the route directly on the mapy.com site. This can be used for on line navigation, saved or exported as a GPX file.

Directions

• Příbram is easily accessed by train or bus from Prague. There are also extensive parking areas around town, including next to the bus station
• Assuming a start from the bus station, join the GREEN trail which leads to the Masaryk square after 600m
• In the square, join the RED trail which leads up to Svatá hora after 1.2 km
• At Svatá hora join the GREEN trail head in the direction of Příbram
• After 2 km reach the water park area. Here, leave the GREEN trail and head through the residential area to reach the mining museum (the route is best followed on a phone application as there are no trail markers in this part of town)
• At the mining museum , pick to the GREEN trail and follow this back to the bus station, reached after 1.8 km