Pernink

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Pernink (German: Bärringen) is a village in Karlovy Vary District in the Czech Republic. It is situated in the valley of Bílá Bystřice at 840 m above the sea level. It has approximately 650 residents.

At the beginning of the 16th century, mining pioneers settled in the area dominated by dense forest. According to a legend, a bear found silver-stones there. The legend is preserved in the coat of arms and also in the German name (Bär = Bear). In 1532, a settlement called Peringer was raised to mining town status. The town received further privileges in 1559 and 1562. The predominant industry was mining of silver and tin. The area between Pernink, Abertamy and Horní Blatná used to be called Silver triangle. Following the Thirty years war, most of the protestant miners left to neighbouring Saxony. Mining was gradually replaced by forestry and specialized crafts (e.g. lace-making).

In the first part of the 19th century, Adalbert Meinl founded a textile factory. Small workshop for manufacturing wooden and iron products were established. In 1843, the town had almost 1800 residents, living in 207 houses. The economic situation was bolstered by opening of a railway line Karlovy Vary - Johanngeorgenstadt in 1899. In the inter-war period, number of residents risen to approximately 3500. After the Second World War, almost 90% if the inhabitants had to move to Germany. Hundreds of new inhabitants came in 1946. Following closure of uranium mines in Jáchymov, the number of residents decreased. Many houses are currently used as weekend cottages.

At present, the largest single employer is the textile factory. Tens of inhabitants work in services related to tourism. There are several ski-lifts and marked routes for both cross country skiing, hiking and cycling. The tourists can take advantage of the high elevation of the local railway station (902 m above the sea level, the highest one in Ore Mountains and second highest in the Czech Republic).