The Cross-Border Mining Trail (Příhraniční naučná hornická stezka) is a fascinating walk through one of Central Europe's most historically significant tin-mining regions. Stretching 22.8 km along the Czech-German border, it strings together castles, churches, museums and mining relics that tell the story of centuries of tin extraction.

The route, marked with the color #38a169, runs from Krupka (Graupen) through Komáří hůrka (Mückenberg), Fojtovice (Voitsdorf), and onward toward Cínovec (Böhmisch Zinnwald) and the outskirts of Dubí (Eichwald). Along the way, hikers pass the ruins of Krupka Castle, the pilgrimage church at Bohosudov, a rare surviving miners' bell tower, and the longest chairlift without an intermediate station in the Czech Republic, climbing Komáří hůrka. The trail winds through forested hills and past the headwaters of the Weiße Müglitz river, connecting mining settlements shaped by 800 years of tin extraction.

Difficulty and terrain

• Moderate difficulty - the distance of nearly 23 km calls for reasonable fitness, though the terrain itself is not technically demanding.
• Forest paths, gravel tracks and stretches of quiet local roads, with moderate climbs near Komáří hůrka.

Practical information

• A dedicated hiking map is recommended, as it includes short descriptions of the waypoints and museum opening hours.
• A chairlift operates up Komáří hůrka, and Krupka has a local mining and history museum.
• The trail crosses the old border crossing on road B 170.

Few trails offer such a dense concentration of mining heritage - the landscape here still bears the scars of centuries of tin extraction, and local legend even claims the rich ore deposit at Altenberg was discovered by accident by a charcoal burner.