Hamr na Jezeře

The iron ore business under Karl of Biberstein

Mining iron ore in the middle of sandstone rocks may seem like a fool's errand at first. And yet, the mining and processing of iron ore developed around Hamr at the beginning of the 16th century. From the deeds on property transfers we know that one hammer mill stood under the Děvín Castle around 1511, and it was from it that the present village got its name. The word hamr originates from the german word Hammer.

Did you know that...?

Karl of Biberstein, who had resided on Castle Děvín since 1548, was an important figure for the mining of iron ore in the area. Karl held the important office of supreme royal mintmaster in Kutná Hora and brought his rich experience in mining over to his estate. In his time, mining was carried out on the surface or in shallow adits, mainly around Děvín, Ostrý, at Jelení hřbety or Chrastný. The visualisation will show you a hammer mill that might have stood here.

The virtual trail

The stop is part of the virtual trail that will lead you to places in the Ralsko Geopark that are associated with iron ore mining.

How to do it?

Download the app. The app is data intensive, we recommend downloading it while on Wi-Fi. Once you have downloaded the app, all you need to do is to find the relevant stop in the app and scan the QR code in the header of the board.