It was bounded by (from the south and clockwise) the Czech Republic and the districts of Aue-Schwarzenberg, Stollberg and Mittlerer Erzgebirgskreis.

In the Middle Ages the Ore Mountains were virtually unsettled and covered by dense forests.

The towns of Annaberg and Buchholz (merged in 1945 to form Annaberg-Buchholz) were founded by the turn of the 16th century due to the discovery of silver and tin deposits.

By the late 19th century, mining, formerly of great importance, had been diverted to other localities, and the government department relating to it had moved to Marienberg in 1856.

Annaberg, however, continued to be an important center for the manufacture of lace and fringes, which latter industry was introduced about 1590 by Protestant refugees from Spanish oppression in Flanders.