History of Mining
The Jílové ore region is historically the most important Czech gold mine. The total production is around 10 tonnes with the maximum production in the 14th century.
The interest in gold is as old as mankind itself. The proximity of the Celtic oppidum Lhota-Točná near Zbraslav only confirms the interest of the Celts in gold from Jihlava about 2000 years ago. At that time they probably obtained gold mainly by panning from the Sázava River and local streams.
"In 1335, John the King of Bohemia gave the King of Hungary a beautiful gift, namely a handstan from the mountains of Jihlava, so large and well endowed with druze and gold that it was a wonder. The Hungarians said that such a one had never been heard of in the golden mountains of Hungary, and that he was worth eight thousand Hungarian gold pieces"
V. Hájek - Czech Chronicle, 1541
Deep mining has been confirmed by isolated historical sources since at least the 12th century, but the real boom in gold mining in the Jílové region occurred in the 13th century with a peak around the middle of the century. At that time, the Jílovské mines were the most important gold mines in the territory of the present-day Czech Republic, with workings reaching perpendicular depths of 250 m below the surface (almost 400 m). The mined sections reached lengths of up to 1000 m.
"It is also a credible report that of these golden baths the Old Town of Prague was the greatest work, also the churches, the bridge, the college and the wall above around the town were built."
The Office of the Supreme Mintmaster in the Kingdom of Bohemia, 1559
The most productive mine was the Rotlev Mine near the town of Jílové. It was named after its owner, Jan Rotlev, who amassed great wealth through gold mining in the region. Technical difficulties caused by groundwater, followed by the Hussite Wars, led to the flooding and abandonment of the richest workings along the Šlojíř Vein.
Efforts to reopen these mines continued for centuries. One of the most ambitious projects was the construction of a water wheel house at Žampach, where a large water wheel powered by the Sázava River was built. Its purpose was to transfer mechanical power through a system of long wooden rods to the Pepř Mine, where it was intended to drive pumps that removed groundwater from the deep mine workings.
Although this was an exceptionally advanced engineering solution for its time, it became clear after completion that the water wheel did not generate enough power to drain the mine effectively. The costly project failed to achieve its goal, and the groundwater problem remained unresolved. Only the later excavation of the Václav Drainage Adit made it possible to permanently drain the mine and resume mining at greater depths.
After the Hussite Wars, mining returned to the most promising areas. One of the most important revived mining districts was around Radlík, followed by the mines of the Kocour Vein. Although prospectors discovered several rich ore deposits, including exceptional specimens containing native gold weighing up to 1 kilogram, gold mining never again reached the level of prosperity achieved during the 14th century. The greatest mining activity took place during the 16th and 18th centuries. In the first half of the 18th century, gold ducats were even minted from gold mined in Jílové.
Following the unsuccessful attempt to drain the Pepř Mine using the water wheel at Žampach, it was decided in 1828 to use the much older Václav Adit to drain the southern part of the Pepř Mine. The main objective was to reach the Šlojíř Vein. After many years of driving tunnels through extremely hard rock, the mine was finally drained in 1864, and the vein discovered close to the Pepř Mine was explored. Three years later, mining operations were abandoned because the vein proved uneconomical. The search for gold then continued, particularly through the efforts of the Černý family in the Bohuliby area of the mining district.
Mining operations were resumed at the Rotlev and Radlík mines, which, however, proved the recovery of most of the gold reserves in earlier periods. Mining was thus concentrated on the Pepř and Bohuliby mines until 1968, when it ceased.
In the first quarter of the 20th century, Prof. Barvíř discovered a mining map, on the basis of which he discovered the confusion of the Šlojíř vein with the poorer Romano-Roman vein and thus explained the failure of mining in the 19th century. After a long period in which the mines were rather an object of speculation, the state proceeded to gradually open up the whole area, which began in 1939. The Pepř Mine was deepened to the final depth of the 3rd level (about 250 m below the surface) and connected to the New Bohulibská pit, 1 km away from the Pepř shaft.