Cínovec

A mining hamlet at 835 m straddling the Czech–Saxon border, digging tin since the Middle Ages — the mine closed in 1990, and the lithium under it is talked about again.

Cínovec sits right on the ridge crest at about 835 m, and right on the border: the line through the village between Bohemia and Saxony was fixed by the Treaty of Cheb in 1459 and still splits it from its German twin Zinnwald-Georgenfeld. Miners from Krupka pushed up here in the Middle Ages hunting tin (the first written record is from 1378), and mining of tin and tungsten ore continued on and off until the local mine closed in 1990. The story may not be over — the zinnwaldite mica under the hill carries one of Europe’s largest lithium deposits, named after this very place.

For walkers the hamlet is a natural ridge-top waypoint on the border paths, with refreshment available on both sides of the line.