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Buřt has stated his conviction that in relation to Horní Jiřetín, there is little coal remaining following termination of coal mining operations in town’s cadastre in the late 1980s that made extensive use of deep mining technology, and therefore Horní Jiřetín represents more of a blockage to mining further afield rather than as a site resting on large coal reserves. “A large part of Jiřetín is built on the slopes of the Ore Mountains. If the miners wanted to get the rest of the coal directly under Jiřetín, they’d not only have to mine the built-up area, but also much of the slopes of the Ore Mountains. They'd have to remove the beech forests and hillsides up to another one hundred metres above the town. That in itself is incredible barbarity, and it’s nonsense of course from an economic point of view.”<ref>Deník.cz, 22.2.2010. “Vladimír Buřt: Horní Jiřetín will certainly remain”.[http://mostecky.denik.cz/zpravy_region/vladimir-burt-horni-jiretin-tu-urcite-zustane.html](Czech)</ref> | Buřt has stated his conviction that in relation to Horní Jiřetín, there is little coal remaining following termination of coal mining operations in town’s cadastre in the late 1980s that made extensive use of deep mining technology, and therefore Horní Jiřetín represents more of a blockage to mining further afield rather than as a site resting on large coal reserves. “A large part of Jiřetín is built on the slopes of the Ore Mountains. If the miners wanted to get the rest of the coal directly under Jiřetín, they’d not only have to mine the built-up area, but also much of the slopes of the Ore Mountains. They'd have to remove the beech forests and hillsides up to another one hundred metres above the town. That in itself is incredible barbarity, and it’s nonsense of course from an economic point of view.”<ref>Deník.cz, 22.2.2010. “Vladimír Buřt: Horní Jiřetín will certainly remain”.[http://mostecky.denik.cz/zpravy_region/vladimir-burt-horni-jiretin-tu-urcite-zustane.html](Czech)</ref> | ||
Buřt belives Jezeří itself may be threatened by fissures on the surrounding hills and new landslides allegedly caused by the mining. As the mining gnaws away at the surrounding hillsides there is the threat of a landslide into the valley. Jezeří has until now been supported and protected by its surrounding park, but visible crevices in the land have increasingly threatened its stability. The miners, however, claim that they are monitoring the area around the Czechoslovak Army open cast mine and any fears are unnecessary. | |||
But according to Buřt, the machines are eating into the hills more and more and disrupting the stability of the land: "I'm watching regularly with great concern; it can happen anytime." <ref>Český rozhlas, 7.12.2010, "Jezeří again threatened by fissures". [http://www.rozhlas.cz/zpravy/politika/_zprava/820263]</ref> | |||
There is only one access road to the chateau which more than 20,000 visitors used in 2010, which was about 50% more people than the previous year.<ref>Český rozhlas, 7.12.2010, "Jezeří again threatened by fissures". [http://www.rozhlas.cz/zpravy/politika/_zprava/820263]</ref> Paradoxically, visitors cannot tear their eyes away from the massive mining operations below the chateau as well. Should the mining limits be abrogated, then not only would the adjacent settlements disappear and the chateau foundations destabilised, but the chateau access road would be removed. | |||
Czech Coal, however, has said that should the mining ever continue beyond the current limits, a new road to the chateau and to the settlements in the Ore Mountains that depend on access via Horní Jiřetín would be built, or the old disused E13 road from Chomutov would be restored.<ref>Český rozhlas, 7.12.2010, "Jezeří again threatened by fissures". [http://www.rozhlas.cz/zpravy/politika/_zprava/820263]</ref> | |||
==Resources== | ==Resources== |
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