The upper section of the Preßnitz, through the mining areas of Mezilesí to its confluence with the stream Hammerbach from Dolina, was formerly known as the Hammerlebach.

At the first village in Saxony that the Preßnitz flows through, Schmalzgrube, it is joined by the Schwarzwasser stream from Jöhstadt.

Due to the iron ore deposits in the area there were many hammer mills along the Preßnitz in the past, for example in Schmalzgrube, Oberschmiedeberg, Mittelschmiedeberg und Niederschmiedeberg.

North of the dam on the border with Saxony is the village of Kryštofovy Hamry, in which one of the seven factories that manufactured cobalt blue paint in Bohemia, the Blaufarbenwerk St. Christoph, was located until 1874.

After its closure a walking and cycling path was built between Wolkenstein and Steinbach on the old railway embankment along which the course of the river can be followed.