Kryštofovy Hamry

Kryštofovy Hamry (Christophhammer) is a municipality and village in Chomutov District in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 200 inhabitants.

Administrative parts
The village of Černý Potok, the hamlet of Mezilesí and the area of the former village of Rusová are administrative parts of Kryštofovy Hamry. The former town of Přísečnice was also located in what is today the municipal territory of Kryštofovy Hamry.

Etymology
Kryštofovy Hamry means literally "Kryštof's (Christopher's) hammer mills". The village is named after Christopher (Kryštof) Grad of Grünberg, who founded here a hammer mill and named him after St. Christopher.

Geography
Kryštofovy Hamry is located about 19 km west of Chomutov and 34 km southeast of Karlovy Vary. The municipality borders Germany in the north. It is adjacent to the German town of Jöhstadt. Kryštofovy Hamry lies in the Ore Mountains. The highest point is the mountain Jelení hora at 994 m above sea level.

The central part of the municipality is formed by the Přísečnice Reservoir, built on the eponymous river. The reservoir was built in 1969–1976 and serves as a source of drinking water for the region.

History
The area was part of the Přísečnice estate. At the beginning of the 15th century, first hammer mills were established there, but they were destroyed during the Hussite Wars. Kryštof Grad of Grünberg founded here a new hammer mill between 1621 and 1625 and named him after St. Christopher. A brickyard was built next to the hammer mill in 1660, but the village did not yet exist at that time. The first written mention of the village of Kryštofovy Hamry is from 1720. In the 19th century, various manufactories were established in the village.

Transport
The train stop called Rusová is located on the railway line Chomutov–Cranzahl. However, trains run on it only on weekends in the summer season.

Sights
The main landmark of Kryštofovy Hamry is the Church of Saint Christopher. It was built in 1829–1832.

Notable people

 * Richard Markgraf (1869–1916), palaeontologist
 * Eugen Sänger (1905–1964), Austrian aerospace engineer