Staré Hory and the Old Mountain Raceway (Starohorský hornický náhon)

   
Staré Hory is traditionally considered the place where the Jihlava silver rush began. Legend tells of an unsuccessful potter whose pottery made from local clay cracked during firing. A passing merchant noticed spilled silver in his furnace. Staré Hory seems plausible as a place that silver was discovered. The Jihlava River runs perpendicular to the richest band of deposits around Jihlava and creates a valley that could have revealed silver veins.

Mining here was intensive and very profitable, but short. Despite many subsequent attempts, it was not possible to repeat the early successes of the second half of the 13th century. The mines were flooded with water. The river that had exposed the silver later became the biggest obstacle to mining. Below its level, water could not flow by gravity and had to be laboriously extracted. At the beginning of the 14th century, the mine may have been abandoned and flooded. Archival sources name the site as "Antico Monte", meaning "Old Mountain/Old Mine".

In 1315, a new effort was made to resume mining. The miners’ hope was renewed by modern water extraction technology. Water from the mines was to be pumped out by water-powered machines. They would provide great performance at less cost. However, a sufficient quantity of driving water had to be brought above the mine. This created a hydraulic structure of impressive dimensions.

A water channel ran from Rantířov down the left slope of the Jihlava valley. It started on the Jiřínský Brook and gradually collected water from four other river basins. It reached a length of 6.3 kilometres at Staré Hory. With a gradient of 0.07 %, the difference in height between the beginning and the end was a mere four metres. The water along the route gained an elevation of 17 metres above the river and was supposed to spin 6 water wheels.

It is one of the oldest hydraulic structures of its type, probably the oldest in the Czech Republic. It predated the main era of the great mining drive by 200 years. It began in the 16th century and culminated on the eve of the Industrial Revolution. In the Middle Ages, it was surpassed in length only by the 22-kilometre-long Urgraben, its predecessor from the Black Forest, 30 years its senior.

The Old Mountain Raceway represents one of the few preserved monuments of mining in Jihlava and is worth a visit. A yellow hiking trail from Rantířov to Plandry leads through parts of its dry riverbed. Its good preservation combined with its age make it unique. Including the side bank, 22 % of its length has been preserved. Around 40 % of its length runs on a slope in the form of a flat terrace several metres wide. For centuries it has been protected by the forest. There was no danger of being ploughed up. However, during the bark beetle calamity a few years ago, it was significantly damaged by heavy forestry equipment. It still has no official monument protection.

It is not known how long the raceway remained in operation. It probably did not last long and ceased to exist in the 14th century. Even after the end of the famous era of silver mining, however, Staré Hory remained closely linked to water and water power. Several mills were built in the area, one of which used to take water from a pond built on the outlet of water from the old mines. Although the pond can no longer be found in Staré Hory, the mine water still springs from the well in front of the Venuše Restaurant.

TL
Literature and other sources 

Next buildings on the trail