Johanngeorgenstadt

Johanngeorgenstadt is a mining town in Saxony’s Ore Mountains, 17 km south of Aue, and 27 km northwest of Karlovy Vary. It lies in the district of Erzgebirgskreis, on the border with the Czech Republic, is a state-recognized health resort (Erholungsort), and calls itself Stadt des Schwibbogens (“Schwibbogen Town”). Its population decline since the 1950s has been extremely severe falling from 45,000 residents in 1953 to only about one tenth of that now.GeographyLocationThe town stretches predominantly from the eastern ridge of the almost 900-m-high Fastenberg to where the Breitenbach, which forms part of the border with the Czech Republic, empties into the river Schwarzwasser. The nearest high mountains to the town are the 1019-m-high Auersberg, the 1043-m-high Blatenský vrch (in Czech) or Plattenberg (in German) and the 913-m-high Rabenberg.Neighbouring communitiesCommunities in Aue-Schwarzenberg bordering on Johanngeorgenstadt are Breitenbrunn, Eibenstock and Sosa. The Czech community of Potůčky also borders on Johanngeorgenstadt.Constituent communitiesJohanngeorgenstadt consists of the centres of Altstadt, Mittelstadt, Neustadt, Schwefelwerk, Jugel, Henneberg, Wittigsthal, Pachthaus, Heimberg, Steigerdorf, Steinbach and Sauschwemme. The former centre of Neuoberhaus is nowadays abandoned and has been overgrown by woods.