The Royal Mint in Jáchymov is a Renaissance building with a corner bay window and chapel, standing at the corner of Mincovní Street and Republic Square. This is where the famous silver Joachimsthaler coins were struck starting in 1520 - coins that gave their name to the entire 'thaler' currency family used across Europe.

The building impresses with its details: a late-Gothic to Renaissance corner oriel from 1536, a stone entrance portal, barrel-vaulted cellars around the courtyard, and a unique smelting furnace with chimney construction, considered a technical rarity of European importance. The interior also houses a lapidarium of Gothic and Renaissance stonework rescued from demolished houses in Jáchymov. The whole place carries the atmosphere of the silver mining boom that once made this small town one of the wealthiest in the region.

How to get there

• The Mint stands in the center of Jáchymov, on Republic Square, right above the town hall, separated from it by Mincovní Street - a short walk from the town center, easy route
• Jáchymov is well connected to Karlovy Vary, from where marked hiking trails lead into the Krušné hory (Ore Mountains)

Practical information

• The building houses the Royal Mint Museum Jáchymov, founded in 1923, now a branch of the Karlovy Vary Region Museum
• Listed as a cultural monument since 1964
• A comprehensive reconstruction took place between 1996 and 1997

Fun fact: coins minted here gave rise to the word 'thaler', and eventually the American 'dollar' - few places in the world can claim such a monetary legacy.