A 🇨🇿🇩🇪 | Wild landscapes, cobalt blue, and post-apocalyptic Rolava

The price of the tour is 59 euros and includes transportation, admission fees, guided services, lunch with a non-alcoholic beverage, and a hot drink with dessert.

This full-day sightseeing trip will take us to the western part of the Ore Mountains. We will travel through their wildest part, with a high proportion of coniferous forests, which is often compared to the Nordic landscape of Scandinavia.

From Boží Dar, we will head to the Saxon town of Schneeberg, one of the most traditional mining towns in the Ore Mountains, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The first stop is the "Siebenschlehener Pochwerk" grinding mill, where water power was used to crush and process ore, mainly cobalt. A visit to the St. Georgen silver smelter, which is part of a beautiful historic complex but is not normally open to the public, will be a truly unique experience. Here, silver ore was smelted in shaft furnaces. The building, which has been preserved to this day, dates back to 1665.
After lunch at the "Goldne Sonne," a local guide will introduce us to the historic center, culminating in a tour of St. Wolfgang's Church with its famous Schneeberg Reformation altar from Cranach's workshop.

From Schneeberg, we will take mountain roads to the former Sauersack tin ore mine and processing plant between Rolava and Jelen. The monumental ruins are located on a plateau surrounded by peat bogs and marshes. It is very isolated, but not forgotten. The ruins here are very photogenic and have often served as the backdrop for Czech films and TV series. We can admire the former mine from the ground, the top towers, and the first floor, where the forest grows on the concrete structure as if nothing had happened. It gives an almost post-apocalyptic impression. Near the former mine is also Rolavský Pond with its beautiful surroundings.

On the way back we will stop in the beautiful valley of the former village of Jelení/Hirschenstand. On the site of the once bustling village with a church, today we can only find a few buildings. We will refresh ourselves with a hot drink and dessert and return through the valleys and villages of the western Ore Mountains.