27 🇨🇿🇩🇪 | Love at second sight

We start at the big parking lot in Potůčky, in front of the Stodola restaurant. We head to the railway station in Potůčky and then along the asphalt road towards the village of Stráň, lined with beautiful cottages and memorable trees. We will reach a concrete slab road, which will take us down to the valley of the Goat Creek. This poetic little valley is one of the landscapes that have hardly changed in the last 100 years. Follow the gravel path along the stone drifts to the railway line, admiring the local buildings and views.

We take a winding road down to the next valley, where the famous Dreckschänke restaurant is currently undergoing renovation. Anton Günther, the famous singer-songwriter from Boží Dar, often performed here. We cross the road and start to climb up along the slope through the captivating extinct part of Potůčky. We reach a dense forest, which hides a former uranium mine. Here we turn off towards the border, which we cross a little too wildly. This is the same route that the inhabitants of Horní Blatná used in the 17th century when they fled from violent recatholization to found the new town of Johanngeorgenstadt on the plains above Potůčky. The local settlement of Oberjugel is a beautiful example of scattered housing with unique views of the peaks of the Ore Mountains.

We reach the Kleiner Kranichsee reserve with its peat bog and lookout tower. Here we can refresh ourselves in the Henneberg restaurant. We continue past the remains of the Dreckpfütze mining reservoir towards the upper part of Johanngeorgenstadt. We can admire more beautiful views, the Schwefelbach swimming pool, the unique horse-gin, the giant pyramid and the largest arched candlestick in the world. From here we will only descend through the forest that replaced the former town center. Follow the dense network of forest paths - yes, these used to be the  streets of the town.

In the center of Johanngeorgenstadt you will find the layout of the former square with a fountain and a statue of the town's patron saint, Elector Johann Georg. Next to the fountain, the Stadtkirche has been preserved. The entire town center fell victim to uranium mining in the 1950s. From the church we walk down the path to the border crossing, returning to the front of the Stodola restaurant, where the food is good.