The silver mining and processing complex in the Vrbické Hory area, 9.5 km NNW of Světlá nad Sázavou was one of the most important early modern period mining sites in the Czech-Moravian Highlands. The deposit, mined in two stages from 1547 to the early 1590s, provided several hundred kilograms of the precious metal. The stopes, which extended to a depth of approx. 80 m, ran along three principal vein zones, partly drained through hereditary adits, with further prospecting work in the area. The mined ore was smelted on site; mineral processing and metallurgical plants could take advantage of the energy system of the reservoirs on the nearby watercourses, and two mining settlements appeared by the mines. The mining was funded by numerous investors from Bohemia and Germany (burghers, nobles, officials, mining and coin experts). However, there was also significant involvement on the part of the landed nobility: the frequently alternating owners of the land on which mines were situated included the ruler, imperial princes, higher- and lower-ranking nobles and wealthy burghers. However, mining was complicated by the area’s position on the boundaries of several estates and interference from landowners, disagreements amongst miners and persistent drainage problems. This study, based on the latest field prospecting surveys and revision of the available written sources summarises our existing knowledge and highlights the potential for further research., Jiří Doležel., and Obsahuje seznam literatury
On March 12, 1781, the lodge "Zur wahren Eintracht" ("True Concord"), which was originally a secession of the lodge "Zur gekrönten Hoffnung" ("Crowned Hope"), was initiated - a lodge that would show itself to be paramount for the further development of Freemasonry in Austria. It supported the establishment of new masons’ guilds in the provinces of the Habsburg monarchy and actively contributed there. The deputized Grand Master and ducal Saxe‐Weimar resident at the Viennese Court, Christian Bernhard von Isenflamm, envisaged the construction of an elite lodge, which could indeed be built. While at first, aulic surgeon Ignaz Fisher assumed the titular administration of the lodge - Isenflamm had refused a function due to his public status - later privy councilor Ignaz Edler von Born, who as Master of the Chair would soon advance the lodge to an elite association with a literary‐scientific inclination, joined with his circle. Born did not publicly support the establishment of an imperial academy in Vienna, because he wanted to realize the academic thought within Freemasonry. The lodge "Zur wahren Eintracht" especially lent itself to the achievement of this goal, because it had been headed from the beginning by men of the sciences. Under Joseph II, the Freemasons used the press well in order to gain a broader base of influence. However, because the Freemasons were not willing to be politically instrumented by Joseph II, Joseph II issued an imperial hand billet which reduced the number of lodges and with which the emperor hoped to bring the Freemasons under his control. The imperial hand billet resulted in a veritable flood of brochures which had already started in 1781 and now received fresh impetus. The disappointment of the Freemasons was immense and the imperial decree led to the demise of the lodges in Austria., Helmut Reinalter., and Obsahuje bibliografické odkazy