- Pernink
Pernink (German: "Bärringen") is a village in
Karlovy Vary District in theCzech Republic . It is situated in the valley ofBílá Bystřice at 840 m above the sea level. It has approximately 650 residents.At the beginning of the 16th century, mining pioneers settled in the area dominated by dense forest. According to a legend, a bear found silver-stones there. The legend is preserved in the coat of arms and also in the German name (Bär = Bear). In
1532 , a settlement called "Peringer" was raised to mining town status. The town received further privileges in1559 and1562 . The predominant industry was mining ofsilver andtin . The area between Pernink,Abertamy andHorní Blatná used to be called "Silver triangle". Following theThirty years war , most of theprotestant miners left to neighbouringSaxony . Mining was gradually replaced by forestry and specialized crafts (e.g.lace-making ).In the first part of the 19th century, Adalbert Meinl founded a textile factory. Small workshop for manufacturing wooden and iron products were established. In
1843 , the town had almost 1800 residents, living in 207 houses. The economic situation was bolstered by opening of arailway lineKarlovy Vary -Johanngeorgenstadt in1899 . In the inter-war period, number of residents risen to approximately 3500. After theSecond World War , almost 90% if the inhabitants had to move toGermany . Hundreds of new inhabitants came in1946 . Following closure ofuranium mines inJáchymov , the number of residents decreased. Many houses are currently used as weekend cottages.At present, the largest single employer is the textile factory. Tens of inhabitants work in services related to tourism. There are several ski-lifts and marked routes for both
cross country skiing , hiking and cycling. The tourists can take advantage of the high elevation of the local railway station (902 m above the sea level, the highest one in Ore Mountains and second highest in the Czech Republic).External links
*(cs) [http://www.pernink.cz/ Official website]
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