Oloví () is a town in

Sokolov District Sokolov District () is a Okres, district in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic. Its capital is the town of Sokolov, Czech Republic, Sokolov. Administrative division Sokolov District is divided into two Districts of the Czech Republic#Mu ...

in the

Karlovy Vary Region The Karlovy Vary Region () is an administrative unit () of the Czech Republic, located in the westernmost part of the country. It is named after its capital Karlovy Vary. It is known for spas, which include Karlovy Vary and Mariánské Lázně. ...

of the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

. It has about 1,700 inhabitants.

Administrative division

Oloví consists of four municipal parts (in brackets population according to the 2021 census): *Oloví (689) *Hory (786) *Nové Domy (15) *Studenec (67)

Etymology

Both the Czech name ''Oloví'' and German name ''Bleistadt'' refer to the reason for the founding of the town, which was

lead Lead () is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol Pb (from Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a Heavy metal (elements), heavy metal that is density, denser than most common materials. Lead is Mohs scale, soft and Ductility, malleabl ...

mining (lead = ''olovo'' in Czech and ''Blei'' in German).

Geography

Oloví is located about northwest of Sokolov and west of

Karlovy Vary Karlovy Vary (; , formerly also spelled ''Carlsbad'' in English) is a spa town, spa city in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 49,000 inhabitants. It is located at the confluence of the Ohře and Teplá (river), Teplá ri ...

. It lies in the western part of the

Ore Mountains The Ore Mountains (, or ; ) lie along the Czech–German border, separating the historical regions of Bohemia in the Czech Republic and Saxony in Germany. The highest peaks are the Klínovec in the Czech Republic (German: ''Keilberg'') at ab ...

. The highest point is at above sea level. The

Svatava Svatava may refer to places: * Svatava (river), a river in the Czech Republic and Germany * Svatava (Sokolov District), a market town in the Czech Republic *Svatava, a village and part of Černovice (Pelhřimov District) in the Czech Republic ...

River flows through the town.

History

Oloví was founded by Stephan Schlick in 1523 within his newly acquired

Hartenberg Hartenberg (or Hartenberk) is the ruin of a castle over the village of Hřebeny in the municipality of Josefov (Sokolov District), Josefov in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic. History Hartenberg Castle was built by the lords of Harte ...

estate. Since its foundation, lead and to a lesser extent

silver Silver is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag () and atomic number 47. A soft, whitish-gray, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. ...

were mined in the area. After the properties of the Schlick family were confiscated by King Ferdinand I, the estate was acquired by Lords of Plauen in 1551. In 1561, Ferdinand I separated Oloví from the Hartenberg estate and promoted it to a royal mining town. Because of the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...

, the collapsing of tunnels and floods on the Svatava River, mining was reduced. From 1938 to 1945, the town was annexed by

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

and administered as part of the

Reichsgau Sudetenland The Reichsgau Sudetenland was an administrative division of Nazi Germany from 1939 to 1945. It comprised the northern part of the ''Sudetenland'' territory, which was annexed from Czechoslovakia according to the 30 September 1938 Munich Agreement. ...

. After World War II, the German population was expelled.

Demographics

Transport

Oloví is located on the railway line Sokolov–

Kraslice Kraslice (; ) is a town in Sokolov District in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 6,400 inhabitants. It was a large and important town until World War II. It is known for the manufacture of musical instruments. Administrat ...

Sights

The main landmark of Oloví is the Church of Saint Michael the Archangel. It was built in the neo-Gothic style in 1901–1902.

Twin towns – sister cities

Oloví is twinned with: * Kastl, Germany

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Olovi Cities and towns in the Czech Republic Populated places in Sokolov District