St. Joachim’s Church

Built between 1534 and 1540, the St. Joachim church is the first purely Lutheran church in the lands of the Czech Crown. It is the testimony to the role of the Ore Mountains as a seed of the Protestant religion which quickly spread to other mining regions in Central and Northern Europe by miners migrating from here. It is also a testimony to the work of Johannes Mathesius (1504-1565), a pupil of Luther and from 1542 Protestant pastor in the St. Joachim church. His collection of sermons “Sarepta" or "Bergpostill” (published in 1562) represents the first effort ever to educate the simple audience of miners in the field of mining and related areas. The church was built in a similar style as the churches in other mining towns in the Ore Mountains (Annaberg, Schneeberg and Marienberg in Saxony). A disastrous fire of the town in 1873 destroyed the entire furnishings of the church including the altar. Subsequently the church was restored as a three-aisled nave based on the design of a prominent Czech architect, Josef Mocker. The original exterior masonry has been preserved, including the western portal with a relief portrait of the founder of the town, Stephan Schlick.