Štěpán Šlik (1487–1526), Count of Holíč and Pasoun, Lord of Ostrov, was a Czech, German-speaking nobleman and mining entrepreneur. In 1515, silver was found on his estate near the small settlement of Konradsgrün. With partners, he founded a mining company, borrowed capital from Nuremberg bankers, founded the settlement of Thal (Valley) in 1516, and built mines and smelters. To repay the loan, he needed to acquire the right to mint coins, which belonged to the king. He obtained this, along with his brothers, in April 1520 based on a decision of the state diet; King Louis confirmed this right in 1523. Following the model of coins minted in Tyrol and Saxony, he primarily minted gulden groschen, or thalers. He meticulously adhered to the regulations for silver content and had coin tests performed at the Leipzig trade fair. Šlik further negotiated with the Saxon Electors that the new coins, the thalers, would also be circulated in Saxony. Approximately 2.2 million thalers were minted between 1519 and 1528. In 1517, Šlik had Freudenstein Castle built, which was intended to protect the settlement and mines, and serve as accommodation for mining officials. In 1518, he issued his own Mining Code, later incorporated into the Czech Mining Codes, which brought Saxon and Czech mining law closer together. The settlement of Thal was named „Sankt Joachimsthal“. On 6 January 1520, it was elevated to a „free mining town“ by a royal charter of Louis Jagiellon. Štěpán was open to the Reformation, which had been spreading across Central Europe since 1517. He bought the right of patronage from the Dean of Falkenau and transferred it to the municipal community—thus, the town councillors and representatives of the miners themselves chose the priests, and Jáchymov gradually became a Lutheran town. In the summer of 1526, together with his brother Heinrich and numerous miners, he joined King Ludvík’s campaign against the Ottoman army led by Suleiman the Magnificent. There is no trace of him after the defeat at the Battle of Mohács.
