Pyrolusite

specimen number:
1052604

location:
Horni Blatna, Karlovy Vary, Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic

description:

Lustrous black prismatic crystals of pyrolusite to 1.0 cm in size across the top of matrix. In very good condition. Neat antique locality example, yet very nice for the species. The specimen comes with an old label as shown at the end of the video, this label shows an acquisition date originally in 1912.

Horni Blatna, historically known as Bergstadt Platten, is a historic mining town located in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic within the Ore Mountains. Geologically, the area is situated atop a rich granite pluton where hydrothermal processes deposited significant veins of tin and tungsten ore, primarily in the form of cassiterite and wolframite. The town was founded in 1532 specifically to exploit these mineral riches, and mining-quarrying operations were supported by the construction of the Blatensky prikop, a sophisticated sixteen-century water canal system. Historically, the most intensive period of mining occurred during the 1500s and 1600s, though sporadic extraction of cobalt, silver, and iron continued into the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Industrial mining eventually ceased as reserves were depleted and economic focus shifted, but the town remains a preserved monument to Renaissance-era mining engineering. Today, Horni Blatna is recognized as part of a UNESCO World Heritage site, serving as a vital historical record of Central European mining culture and technology through 2026.

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