Two more Czech attractions have been added to the UNESCO World Heritage Site list. One is the uniquely preserved mining landscape Krušné hory – Erzgebirge for which the Czech Republic made a joint bid with Germany, the other is the national stud farm in Kladruby in Central Bohemia.
The Erzgebirge region shared by Germany and the Czech Republic is a "unique mountain cultural landscape" and a center of mining Innovation.Miners have worked in Erzgebirge silver mines since the 12th century. Radioactive uranium was also mined there until the early 1990s. The mountain range is known as the Krusnohori in Czech and the Ore Mountains in English. The area grew rich through the extraction of ore, and became a center for the study of mining technology.
The Kladruber is one of the world’s oldest horse breeds and unique because the horses were bred to pull royal carriages. At the height of the Habsburg empire, Emperor Rudolf II made the farm the imperial stud. The grey Kladruber was reserved for the imperial family, while a black variety of the breed was used to transport bishops in carriage processions.
Today, the horses can still be found in royal service. They pull the carriage of the queen of Denmark, while another pack transports the trumpeters of the Royal Mounted Guard of Sweden.
The National Kladruby Stud Farm
The National Kladruby Stud Farm, housing period buildings and manicured paddocks in the east of the country, has been recognized as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO and acknowledged as one of Europe’s leading horse-breeding institutions.The Kladruber is one of the world’s oldest horse breeds and unique because the horses were bred to pull royal carriages. At the height of the Habsburg empire, Emperor Rudolf II made the farm the imperial stud. The grey Kladruber was reserved for the imperial family, while a black variety of the breed was used to transport bishops in carriage processions.
Today, the horses can still be found in royal service. They pull the carriage of the queen of Denmark, while another pack transports the trumpeters of the Royal Mounted Guard of Sweden.
