15 🇨🇿🇩🇪 | In the footsteps of exiles to Johanngeorgenstadt

This historically significant hike begins in the square of the Czech mining town of Platten (Horní Blatná), right next to the imposing Church of St. Lawrence. From here, the trail first follows the road towards Breitenbach before turning left into the forest.

Through the evergreen Ore Mountains forest, past occasional clearings, the route continues towards the border at Oberjugel. It was here in the winter of 1653 that Protestant exiles from Platten reached their destination. They wanted to remain true to their faith and were therefore expelled from their homeland by the Habsburg emperor. At their request, the Saxon Elector John George I granted them land, and the town of Johanngeorgenstadt was founded in gratitude.

The route continues through the quiet village of Oberjugel, past the "Old Bobsleigh Run" and into the picturesque Lehmer Grund valley. The trail passes by a former ore storage facility – once part of the mining infrastructure – and then follows the Schwefelbach stream downstream. In Unterjugel, the trail leads past the Glöckl exhibition mine, which impressively documents the history of silver ore mining.

Numerous unique market stalls and restaurants invite visitors to stroll and enjoy refreshments along the Czech border, providing a fitting end to this historically rich route.