KUTN HORA

German Kuttenberg, city, Stredocesk kraj (region), Czech Republic. It lies on the high tableland above the Vrchlice River, 44 miles (71 km) east of Prague. It began in the early 13th century as a silver-mining town, and from the 14th century Bohemian coins (gro) were minted there. The royal mint, which was transferred from Jihlava by King Wenceslas II, was in part of a royal residence called the Vlask dvur (Italian Court). Quarreling between the mainly German mining community and the surrounding Czechs, the Hussite Wars of the 15th century, and the Thirty Years' War (161848) ruined the city's prosperity, and the mines were virtually abandoned by the end of the 18th century. The magnificent Gothic Cathedral of St. Barbara, built in the town's most flourishing period in the 13th century, resembles an imperial crown made of stone. Other historic buildings include the aforementioned Vlask dvur (now housing a coin museum) and the 14th-century St. James's Church. The Vocel Museum contains the Kutn Hora Bible (1489) and a collection of locally minted coins. Under the Czech National Trust for the Preservation of Ancient Monuments, Kutn Hora is primarily a tourist attraction and a market centre for the surrounding countryside. Pop. (1991 prelim.) 21,541.