History of Mining in the Český Krumlov Region
The mining of silver and
gold had a special significance for society in the olden days. The
precious metal was processed to make coins in a period, when paper
notes were not used, and the coins were used as direct payment, and
therefore it was not surprising that the majority of feudal lords
tried to obtain as much profits from the mining of precious metal
as possible. The results of research of the Middle Ages, which are
at the present time presented by archaeologists, move the horizons
that confirm that mining of silver and its processing in the region
around Český Krumlov, in comparison with information obtained from
written sources, further into history. Even though the effort to
obtain silver especially was widespread in the Middle Ages, in the
second half of the 15th century there was a great increase of
interest by the aristocrats for this type of business. From the
fifties of the 15th century originate the famous forgeries of
Ulrich
II. von Rosenberg, which were dated back to the reign of
Přemysl Otakar II, and into the times of the first Luxemburgs on
the Czech throne. Their content is simple. The Rosenberg family had
been apparently given what was called "upper shelf", a right to the
ownership of all precious metals which were mined on their land.
These advantages were confirmed even during the rule of Vladislav
II Jagellonský, and enabled the expansion of mining in the region
of Český Krumlov ( and not only in its region), the expansion
reached its peak during the first decades of the 16th century. The
first preserved Rosenberg privilege to the competitive miners dates
back to 1475, and like the one that followed, contained great
advantages, which were supposed to stimulate the business men to
start the "silver fever". The year 1515 represents a particular
peak, when the Rosenbergs utilised the privileges given to them
within the "upper shelf" right to state their own mining
legislation.
The so-called Annaberský
rule, which strengthened the power of mining officers against the
owners of the mining shares - so-called "kukus", became the bases
of the mining rule by Peter von Rosenberg for the mines of Krumlov.
Each authority with the "upper shelf" and the majority owner of the
land (in this case the Rosenbergs) rented the mining regions to
business men, who had, for the so-called "cupus" (obligatory taxes
guaranteeing the continuation of the mining process) the right to
share the profit, which was divided between the owners of the
so-called "kukus" (according to the regulations from 1515 there
were 128 of them). Where the Rosenbergs were the owners of the
land, on which the mining took place, they were the majority
holders and therefore the landlords and where the land did not
belong to them, they were only the owners of a certain number of
"kukus" - mining shares. The main officers of the mining estate had
a responsibility to keep an accounts agenda, pay wages to the hired
labour, keep note of all the tools and pass on all the silver that
was mined. Only after the calculations were completed and the
expenses taken away, the remainder of the profit was divided
between the miners. Mined ore was melted down (it was a part of the
rules within the rental agreements) in smelting works, which were
solely in the hands of owner, the Rosenbergs. The labourers in the
mines were divided into three categories of qualification (trained
worker, helper and a trainee). They worked in three shifts, which
started at four in the morning. Their wages were paid to them once
a week for the hours worked, but it was also possible to come
across a wage for actual work carried out. The majority of
businessmen in mining industry came towards the end of the 15th
century from German speaking regions, and brought not only the
possibility of reasonably paid job opportunities but also a
different style of life as many of them were of non Catholic
belief. A special importance was placed on the groups of incoming
Baptists. It was not surprising that a large labour colony and
specially settled mining guilds ended up in conflict both between
each other and most of all with the Krumlov town environment.
The whole second half of
the 16th century, passed with the efforts of Wilhelm and Peter Wok von
Rosenberg, who constantly tried to initiate a new "silver
fever" but tens of thousands of invested gold coins didn't bring
any significant effect. The most well-known events which led
towards the renewal of fame (and especially profit) to mining in
Krumlov, were at the beginning of the 16th century the gift by
Wilhelm von
Rosenberg from 1555, who gave permission to local and foreign
entrepreneurs to mine free for the period of 15 years with great
benefits on their findings, the efforts of this Rosenberg ruler to
get profits in the mining districts of Ratiboř, Rudolfov and
Kladsko and in the 1607 Peter Wok prepared a proposal, which tried
to promote Czech mining. A definite, although short-lived,
improvement in mining in Krumlov came shortly after the whole
estate was sold to emperor Rudolf II von Habsburg, but deepening of
all society's problems, before the eruption of the Thirty Years'
War, prevented further development. Return to profitability of the
mining on the turn of the 15th and 16th centuries did not
happened.
Further information:
History
of Mining in Český Krumlov
(jl)