Boží Dar (german: Gottesgab) 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 afte ...

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 200 inhabitants. Situated in the Ore Mountains at above sea level, it is considered the highest town in the Czech Republic.

Administrative parts

Villages of Ryžovna and Zlatý Kopec are administrative parts of Boží Dar.

Geography

Boží Dar is located about north of

Karlovy Vary Karlovy Vary (; german: Karlsbad, formerly also spelled ''Carlsbad'' in English) is a spa town, 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. ...

, on the border with

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. The municipality lies in the Ore Mountains. The highest point of the municipal territory is near the summit of the

Božídarský Špičák The Božídarský Špičák (german: Gottesgaber Spitzberg) is the third highest mountain of the Ore Mountains. It lies in the Czech Republic near the highest town in Central Europe, Boží Dar. Location and surrounding area The Božídarský Šp ...

mountain, almost at above sea level. The area around the Božídarský Špičák with peat bogs is protected as the Božídarské rašeliniště National Nature Reserve. The Černá creek flows across the municipal territory. The Myslivny Reservoir is supplied by the creek.

History

The remote area in the Saxon Barony of Schwarzenberg was settled after

silver Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...

and

tin mining Tin mining began early in the Bronze Age, as bronze is a copper-tin alloy. Tin is a relatively rare element in the Earth's crust, with approximately 2 ppm (parts per million), compared to iron with 50,000 ppm. History Tin extraction and use can ...

began about 1517. Boží Dar, under its original German name ''Gottesgab'' (both literally meaning "Gift of God"), was founded as a

mining town A mining community, also known as a mining town or a mining camp, is a community that houses miners. Mining communities are usually created around a mine or a quarry. Historic mining communities Australia * Ballarat, Victoria * Bendigo, ...

by decree of the Wettin elector

John Frederick I of Saxony John Frederick I (30 June 1503 in Torgau – 3 March 1554 in Weimar), called the Magnanimous, was the Elector of Saxony (1532–1547) and head of the Schmalkaldic League. Early years John Frederick was the eldest son of Elector John by his firs ...

, who acquired the lordship in 1533. Together with neighbouring

Horní Blatná Horní Blatná (german: Bergstadt Platten) is a town in Karlovy Vary District in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 400 inhabitants. The town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as urban monument zone. Histor ...

, John Frederick had to cede the town to the

Habsburg The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...

lands of the

Bohemian Crown The Lands of the Bohemian Crown were a number of incorporated states in Central Europe during the medieval and early modern periods connected by feudal relations under the Bohemian kings. The crown lands primarily consisted of the Kingdom of Bo ...

in 1547 after the

Schmalkaldic War The Schmalkaldic War (german: link=no, Schmalkaldischer Krieg) was the short period of violence from 1546 until 1547 between the forces of Emperor Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire (simultaneously King Charles I of Spain), commanded by the Duk ...

and his defeat in the

Battle of Mühlberg The Battle of Mühlberg took place near Mühlberg in the Electorate of Saxony in 1547, during the Schmalkaldic War. The Catholic princes of the Holy Roman Empire led by the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V decisively defeated the Lutheran Schmalka ...

. The peak of mining dates back to the 1550s and 1560s, when the town had over 2,000 inhabitants. In 1580, Emperor

Rudolf II Rudolf II (18 July 1552 – 20 January 1612) was Holy Roman Emperor (1576–1612), King of Hungary and Kingdom of Croatia (Habsburg), Croatia (as Rudolf I, 1572–1608), King of Bohemia (1575–1608/1611) and Archduke of Austria (1576–160 ...

. promoted Boží Dar to the royal mining town. During the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (80 ...

, the town was looted several times. In 1643, it was plundered by the

Swedes Swedes ( sv, svenskar) are a North Germanic ethnic group native to the Nordic region, primarily their nation state of Sweden, who share a common ancestry, culture, history and language. They mostly inhabit Sweden and the other Nordic countr ...

. After the decline of mining in the 17th and 18th centuries, the original important mining town gradually turned into a mountain town, whose inhabitants subsisted on various domestic productions. After

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, Boží Dar became part of the

First Czechoslovak Republic The First Czechoslovak Republic ( cs, První československá republika, sk, Prvá česko-slovenská republika), often colloquially referred to as the First Republic ( cs, První republika, Slovak: ''Prvá republika''), was the first Czechoslov ...

. It was mainly settled by

Sudeten Germans German Bohemians (german: Deutschböhmen und Deutschmährer, i.e. German Bohemians and German Moravians), later known as Sudeten Germans, were ethnic Germans living in the Czech lands of the Bohemian Crown, which later became an integral part ...

and 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 ...

annexed during the

German occupation of Czechoslovakia German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

in 1938. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

the German population was expelled. The historic town privileges were lost in the 1950s, but restored in 2006.

Demographics

Transport

Boží Dar is the site of a road border crossing to

Oberwiesenthal Oberwiesenthal (; officially Kurort Oberwiesenthal) is a town and a ski resort in the district of Erzgebirgskreis in Saxony in Germany. It is situated in the Ore Mountains, on the border with the Czech Republic, 19 km south of Annaberg-Buchh ...

Saxony Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...

Sport

Boží Dar lies in one of the most important

winter sport Winter sports or winter activities are competitive sports or non-competitive recreational activities which are played on snow or ice. Most are variations of skiing, ice skating and sledding. Traditionally, such games were only played in cold area ...

regions in the Czech Republic.The town is known for two ski resorts with several downhill runs and four ski lifts.

Notable people

Kaspar Eberhard Kaspar Eberhard (21 March 1523 – 20 October 1575) was a German Lutheran theologian and teacher. He was born at Schneeberg, and died at Wittenberg. Life Bibliography * Walter Friedensburg: Geschichte der Universität Wittenberg. Max Nieme ...

(1523–1575), Lutheran theologian; local pastor in 1554 *

Nikos Kazantzakis Nikos Kazantzakis ( el, ; 2 March ( OS 18 February) 188326 October 1957) was a Greek writer. Widely considered a giant of modern Greek literature, he was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature in nine different years. Kazantzakis's no ...

(1883–1957), Greek writer; spent several months in Myslivny in 1929–1932 *

Lukáš Bauer Lukáš Bauer (; born 18 August 1977) is a Czech cross-country skier who has competed since 1996. Biography On 17 February 2006 he won the Winter Olympics silver medal for the 15 km cross-country classical. His best finish at the FIS Nordic W ...

(born 1977), cross country skier; lives here

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bozi Dar Populated places in Karlovy Vary District Cities and towns in the Czech Republic Towns in the Ore Mountains