亞希莫夫
Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic
捷克的亞希莫夫是歷史悠久的銀與鈾礦區——『dollar(元)』一詞的來源地,也是居里夫人瀝青鈾礦的產地。
Jáchymov (Joachimsthal), in the Czech Ore Mountains, is one of the world's richest historic mineral districts — the birthplace of the word 'dollar' and, later, the first source of radium.
Silver, then radium
Rich silver was discovered here in 1512, and the silver Joachimsthaler coins gave their name to the 'thaler' and ultimately the dollar. Later the district's pitchblende made it the world's first radium source — Marie Curie isolated radium and polonium from Jáchymov ore in 1898. It is now a UNESCO World Heritage mining landscape.
A mineralogical treasure-house
Jáchymov has yielded over 400 mineral species, more than 40 of them first described here, including silver, proustite, erythrite and uraninite. Its type-locality and historic specimens are highly prized.