Príbram is a district town in Stredoceský kraj (Bohemia) situated on the Litavka river some 60 km southwest of Prague. It is located in submontane area of Brdy Mountains. The surrounding terrains are hilly and forested.
The town is first mentioned in 1216 when according to existing documents the archbishop of Prague Ondrej III had bought it. During the reign of the Czech King and Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire Charles IV (1316 – 1378) the archbishop Arnost of Pardubice constructed there a small stone castle. Today it is heart of Pribram's chateau (Zamecek).
The most famous places of interest in Príbram are St. James’s gothic church and baroque pearl Svatá Hora (Holy Mountain), both dated back to the 13th century. The church of St. James belongs to the most ancient buildings in the country. It is situated not far from Zamecek and is a dominant of T.G.Masaryk's Square.
Svatá Hora is one of the largest and most beautiful baroque constructions in the Czech Republic. It used to be for a long stretch of time a site of pilgrimage dedicated to the Virgin Mary in Bohemia and considered by many as the spiritual heart of Czechia.
Príbram used to be a mining town for a very long time. It has the first deepest mine (1,000 m deep) in the world. Silver and gold mines existed there since the 14th century and were the most important town’s industries until 1960s when lead, zinc, and uranium deposits were discovered in the area and their processing started.
After 1989 local mining enterprises, traditional silver and lead mines and modern uranium pits went out of operation. Today Príbram is no longer a mining town. However, it became a center of scientific research on the history of the uranium industry and the mining museum founded there is considered as one of the biggest in Europe.
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