The territory on which Čistá is located initially belonged to the Nothaft family. The first mentions of Čistá date back to 1350, when it bore the German name Lauterbach, belonged to the Bečov nad Teplou estate and was owned by the Riesenburk family. The greatest economic development occurred at the beginning of the 16th century when tin ore deposits were discovered in its immediate vicinity. Both panning and deep mining took place here. After the uprising of the Bohemian Estates in 1547, the Loket estate was confiscated from Jeroným Šlik and a new Upper Order was issued for the towns of Čistá, Horní Slavkov, and Krásno on January 1, 1548.
Floor plan of the church in the extinct town of Čistá
The decline of tin mining and the overall decline of the town occurred during the Thirty Years' War. The Catholic Reformation and the persecution of Protestants resulted in the outflow of residents to nearby Saskam, where they could freely practice their faith.After the end of World War II, Čistá (at that time it was still Litrbachy) was affected by the displacement of the German population. This took place in 1946 and 1947, and practically all of the original population left the town. At the beginning of 1948, the town had only seven inhabitants. Only then, in 1948, did the town receive the Czech name Čistá. Already in 1946, the final decision was made to build a military training area in the Slavkov Forest. This was followed by the incorporation of the Čistá area into the military area and the eviction of the last residents. The construction of various military facilities began on the vacated territory. In 1953–1954, the interests of the army clashed with the exploration of the Jáchymov uranium mines, which had spread to the Slavkovský Forest area. The interest in uranium mining prevailed, and by a resolution of 29 June 1954, the military district was abolished. In the following years, bulldozers destroyed military buildings and half-destroyed civilian buildings. This was the de facto physical end of the town of Čistá.
Photo 1: Nearby historic Jeroným mine
Photo 2: A monument commemorates the destroyed town
Photo 3: The area is mined