Joachimisthal, a town of Bohemia, in the circle of Eger, near the frontier of Saxony, and 10 m. N. of Carlsbad; pop. in 1870, 6,566. It is situated in a beautiful valley of the Erzgebirge, more than 2,000 ft. above the sea. The educational institutions include schools for straw plaiting and lace making. White lead, red lead, smalt, and paper are also manufactured. But the celebrity of the town is mainly due to its lead, tin, iron, and silver mines. The last employed 12,000 men in the 16th century, but the production has since much declined. The term Thaler derives its origin from this place, where the counts Schlick, who were the local rulers early in the 16th century, had Guldengroschien coined, which became known as Joachimstha-ler, and afterward as thaler. In the neighborhood are the ruins of the castle of Freuden-stein. The town was almost completely destroyed by a conflagration March 31,1873. The fine church of St. Joachim was burned, with celebrated pictures by Durer and Cranach; nearly 450 of the 586 houses were burned, and 5,000 persons were rendered houseless.

The rebuilding of the town was at once commenced.