At the very western edge of the Czech Republic, lying on the border with Germany, we find the Ostrov Region, which consists of fourteen independent towns and municipalities:
Abertamy, Boží Dar, Hájek, Horní Blatná, Hroznětín, Jáchymov, Krásný Les, Merklín, Ostrov, Pernink, Potůčky, Stráž nad Ohří, Velichov and Vojkovice.
This is a region that offers its visitors a whole range of tourist attractions. Lovers of nature, hikers, and enthusiasts of summer and winter sports and recreation can find a number of trails, natural phenomena, and locations, such as, for instance, the highest peak of the Ore Mountains – Klínovec (1244m above sea level) and the highest situated town in Central Europe – Boží Dar (1028m above sea level) with its peat bog. Furthermore, there is the Blatenský Ditch, the nearby Vlčí jámy (Wolf Hollows) depressions with their cave ice, or the Celní (Customs) Rocks and the 70 m long path that is carved into the rocks in Stráž nad Ohří, and others. In the winter, there are the kilometres of groomed cross-country skiing trails, as well as pistes and chairlifts to be found in the mountain resorts at Abertamy, Pernink, Boží Dar, Horní Blatná, Jáchymov, and Loučná pod Klínovcem.
Already in the distant past, the Ostrov Region and the Poohří Area (the Ohře River Basin) were considered to be a favourable site. And so, already the Slavs noticed its advantages and chose it for their fortified settlement (Velichov). Even later, this region experienced further historical milestones. This is proven by the many monuments, whether they be the buildings and castles and châteaus in Ostrov, Velichov, or the Schlick Tower in Jáchymov, or Hauenstein by Krásný Les, or Himlstein near Stráž nad Ohří. Landscape monuments include the Ostrov Château Park, which was dubbed the eighth wonder of the world in the Baroque period, or the Hauenstein Park.
The region has always been a place where different cultures clashed and where the dominant elements were, for example, German, but also Jewish, which one of the oldest Jewish cemeteries in the Czech Republic, located in Hroznětín, can attest to. Especially the German environment then suffered a great loss after 1945 with the expulsion of the native population. The location was also made famous by several places of interest, as well as being well-known for its mining and quarrying. Thus, the territory between Pernink, Horní Blatná (also tin smithing), and Abertamy (glove making) was dubbed the “Silver Triangle”. Jáchymov is also quite famous for its mining activities, as well as for its minting, the discovery of radium by the Curies, the spa industry, or also by the infamous uranium prison camps of the 1950s. Proof of its former fame can be found in the museums at Horní Blatná, Jáchymov, and Boží Dar.
