Zlate Gori

Zlate Gori is located in the north-east of the Jeseník region. To the north of the city lies the Czech- Polish border. The distance to the district center Esenik , which lies to the west of the city, is 14.5 kilometers, and to Olomouc - the regional center - 73.5 kilometers.

In the immediate vicinity of the city there are a number of peaks of local importance related to the Czech Upland . The highest of the neighboring peaks, Orlik, has a height of 1204 meters above sea level, the height of other peaks ranges between 600 and 1000 meters.

The modern district of Yesenik was inhabited in the 12th and early 13th centuries. At this time, the development of gold deposits began here. In 1224, Przemysl Otakar I laid the castle of Edelstein on the site of the modern city of Zlate Gori. In 1263, 20 years after the Mongol invasion of Silesia , Zukmantel fortress was first mentioned in historical documents, and after another 18 years, the name Zlate Gori (as the name of a suburban fortification) first appeared. Castles passed from hand to hand, and local bishops or secular princes became their masters.

In 1306, Zlate Gori received city privileges from the Opava prince Mikulas I in accordance with Magdeburg law . Since 1325, the city ​​has been transferred the rights to ore mining, and in 1433 he received the right to mint coins. At the same time, the descendants of Mikulash I remained overlords of the city. In 1460, the city ​​passed into the possession of Jiří from Podebrad , and ten years later he was again sold to the church. In 1477, and then in 1524, the city’s mining rights were confirmed, and in 1514 beer production also began there. By 1586, a post station opened there. In the second half of the 16th century, these places experienced a boom in gold mining; in particular, two gold nuggets found here weighing 1385 and 1870 grams were presented to Emperor Rudolph II . As gold reserves depleted, copper mining began to develop.

During the Thirty Years War, the city, which was part of Austria under the name Zuckmantel, was looted twice by the Swedish troops, but was quickly restored every time. In the second half of the 17th century, the mint was moved from Zuckmantel to Nisa , and weaving was developing in the city: by 1660, there were about 200 looms and more than 60 master weavers in Zuckmantel. Brewing continued to develop, a brick factory opened, and since 1668 the city ​​held two large fairs annually.

The beginning of the 18th century was marked by a new revival of gold mining and the return of old liberties to the city by Emperor Joseph I. By the middle of the century, however, mining again receded into the background, and the leading position in the economy of the city was occupied by weaving: already in 1733 more than 300 weavers accounted for 50 miners. In 1741, during the First Silesian War, the city ​​was besieged by Prussian troops, it was destroyed by artillery fire and looted. After the Second Silesian War, the city ​​lost the right to mint coins, the mint was moved to Vienna , and soon Zuckmantel was denied the right to mining. A contribution was also imposed on the city. Austria’s attempt to regain Upper Silesia during the Seven Years War was unsuccessful. Later, the neighborhood of the city became the site of battles during the war for the Bavarian legacy .

In the nineteenth century, the city continued to develop. Work was carried out to improve the infrastructure, street lamps were installed in 1839 , and in the late 1850s the city population exceeded 4,000 people, of which almost ten percent were engaged in weaving. In 1862, a telegraph line was drawn into the city. In the 1870s, a secondary school, a bank and a city hospital opened, and in 1879 a hydrotherapy sanatorium began to operate. In 1892, a railway station appeared in the city, and a few years later the Franz Josef Park was founded (later it was renamed in honor of the native of Zukmantel Elizaveta Vitzova, the mother of Franz Schubert ). By the beginning of the 90s, the number of weavers in Zukmantel exceeded 700; on average, a weaver earned a day from one and a half to two guilders.

During the First World War, ten percent of the city's population - 452 people - were drafted into the German army. Of these, 118 people died at the front. After the war, the city moved to a new state - Czechoslovakia. The predominantly German-speaking population of the city protested, demanding accession to Austria, and army units were called in to suppress the riots. Tensions between the Czech and German population continued in the future, and in 1938 many local Germans fled to Germany, dodging the draft in the Czech army. After the capture of Czechoslovakia by German troops, the Czech minority was evicted from the city. After World War II, most Germans left Zlate Gori either on their own initiative or as a result of deportation. Their place was taken by immigrants from Gustenovice in East Moravia, from the Slovak Orava , and then refugees from Greece. In 1948, Zukmantel was renamed Zlaté Gori.

According to the Statistical Bureau of the Czech Republic, as of January 1, 2011, the population of Zlate Gori was 4,100 people, of which approximately equally were men and women; the average age was 41.6 years ^[3] . This is the lowest figure since 1971 ; the largest population in the last 40 years in Zlate Gori was in the last 25 years of the 20th century, when the number of inhabitants did not fall below 4,500, with peaks in 1980 and 1989 ^[4] .

The city council Zlate Gori has five deputies. In 2010, Milan Rat was elected mayor of the city, representing the Independent-2010 election list, and all members of the three lists and one independent candidate were elected to the municipality ^[5]

A number of tourist sites operate in Zlaté Gori ^[6] . Among them:

• Gold mine with grinding mills
• The ruins of the medieval fortresses Stražná Hradek, Leuchtenstein, Edelstein and Koberstein
• Catholic church of the Blessed Virgin Mary of the Helper, founded during the time of wars with the Swedes and is a place of pilgrimage for believers
• Cave Temple of Our Lady of Lourdes , also a place of pilgrimage
• Speleotherapeutic sanatorium
• Ski resort Pržičyna
• Cycling and hiking trails

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  Catholic church of St. Mary the Helper

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  Cave Church of the Virgin Mary of Lourdes

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  The ruins of the Leuchtenstein fortress

• Official website (Czech)