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92-501: The following villages are part of the municipality: Oelsen in the southeast, Markersbach and Hellendorf in the southeast, Hartmannsbach, Breitenau, Börnersdorf, and Hennersbach in the southwest, Bad Gottleuba and Berggießhübel in the central part, and Zwiesel, Bahra, and Langenhennersdorf in the north. The municipality extends up to the foothills of the eastern Ore Mountains and into the Saxon Switzerland . The united spa town

184-707: A Hercynian block tilted so as to present a steep scarp face towards Bohemia and a gentle slope on the German side. They were formed during a lengthy process. During the folding of the Variscan orogeny , metamorphism occurred deep underground, forming slate and gneiss . In addition, granite plutons intruded into the metamorphic rocks. By the end of the Palaeozoic era, the mountains had been eroded into gently undulating hills (the Permian massif ), exposing

276-453: A loamy , rapidly weathered gneiss in the east of the mountains producing a light soil. As a result of the subsoils based on granite and rhyolite, the land is mostly covered in forest ; on the gneiss soils it was possible to grow and cultivate flax in earlier centuries and, later, rye , oats and potatoes up to the highlands. Today the land is predominantly used for pasture . But it is not uncommon to see near-natural mountain meadows. To

368-686: A cover up for the Eastern Bloc's highly secretive uranium mining. For the third time in history, thousands of people poured into the Ore Mountains to build a new life. The principal mining areas were located around Johanngeorgenstadt , Schlema and Aue . Uranium ore deposits were also exploited for the Soviet Union in Bohemian Jáchymov (St. Joachimsthal). Its processing was associated with serious health consequences for

460-548: A height of 807 m above  sea level (NN) on the mountain of Komáří vížka which lies on the Czech side, east of Zinnwald-Georgenfeld , right on the edge of the fault block. Consequently, it is a fault-block mountain range, which has been incised by a whole range of river valleys whose rivers drain southwards into the Ohře and northwards into the Mulde or directly into

552-504: A height of 922 m above  sea level (NN) , on average only about 140 frost-free days per year are observed. Based on reports of earlier chroniclers, the climate of the upper Ore Mountains in past centuries must have been even harsher than it is today. Historic sources describe hard winters in which cattle froze to death in their stables, and occasionally houses and cellars were snowed in even after snowfalls in April. The population

644-528: A large number of Bohemian Protestants then fled into the neighbouring Electorate of Saxony . As a result, many Bohemian villages became devastated and desolate, while on the Saxon side new places were founded by these migrants, such as the mining town of Johanngeorgenstadt . Ore mining largely came to a standstill in the 17th century, especially after the Thirty Years' War . Due to the very sharp decline of

736-488: A leading centre of wood and toy manufacturing. Here, wooden smoking figures , nutcrackers , hand-carved wooden trees ( Spanbäume ), candle arches , ( Schwibbogen ), Christmas pyramids and music boxes are made. Up to the last third of the 20th century, Coal was mined near Zwickau until 1978, around Lugau and Oelsnitz until 1971 and in the Döhlen Basin near Freital until 1989. The mountains that until

828-438: A length of 120 km. The eastern Ore Mountains are protected landscape. Other smaller areas on the German and Czech sides are protected as nature reserves and natural monuments. On the ridges there are also several larger raised bogs that are only fed by rainwater. The mountains are popular for hiking and there are winter sports areas at higher elevations. In 2019, the region became a UNESCO World Heritage Site . In English,

920-454: A literal translation of the German name, and Vyšehory , meaning "high mountains". In Upper Sorbian the mountains are known as the Rudne horiny . The German and Upper Sorbian names, as well as the historical Czech Rudohoří , literally mean "ore mountains". The Ore Mountains are geologically considered to be one of the most heavily researched mountain ranges in the world. The Ore Mountains are

1012-704: A long time, so that for about 100 years the blue colour works had a worldwide monopoly. From about 1820 in Johanngeorgenstadt, uranium was also extracted and was then used to colour glass, amongst other things. Even richer deposits of uranium ore were found in St. Joachimsthal. St. Andrew's White Earth Mine ( Weißerdenzeche St. Andreas ) at Aue supplied kaolin to the Meissen Porcelain Factory in Meissen for nearly 150 years. Its export from

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1104-546: A result of settlement in the early 12th century at the northern edge of the Ore Mountains, the first silver ore was discovered in the vicinity of present-day Freiberg , resulting in the First Berggeschrey or mining rush. Almost simultaneously, the first tin ore was discovered on the southern edge of the mountains in Bohemia. In the 13th century, colonization of the mountains took place only sporadically along

1196-465: A second trending north–south from Freiberg through Marienberg, Annaberg, Niederschlag, Joachimsthal, and Schlaggenwald. Late Tertiary faulting and volcanism gave rise to basalt and phonolite dikes . Ore veins include iron, copper, tin, tungsten, lead, silver, cobalt, bismuth, uranium, plus iron and manganese oxides. The most important rocks occurring in the Ore Mountains are schist , phyllite and granite with contact metamorphic zones in

1288-732: A spa town. Spa towns in South Africa include: Spa towns in Spain include: Taiwan is home to a number of towns and cities with tourism infrastructure centered on hot springs. These include: There are several spa towns in Turkey . The most famous of these is Pamukkale, Denizli where the Pamukkale thermal springs are located. Some but not all UK spa towns contain "Spa", "Wells", or "Bath" in their names, e.g., Matlock Bath . Some towns are designated Spa Heritage Towns. Two out of four of

1380-660: Is Krušné hory , derived from an old Czech expression krušec , meaning "ore". The mountains are sometimes divided into the Saxon Ore Mountains and Bohemian Ore Mountains. A similarly named range in Slovakia is usually known as the Slovak Ore Mountains . Europe's earliest mining district appears to be located in Erzgebirge, dated to 2500 BC. From there tin was traded north to

1472-473: Is a protected landscape. Further small areas are nature reserves and natural monuments, and are protected by the state. Spa town A spa town is a resort town based on a mineral spa (a developed mineral spring ). Patrons visit spas to "take the waters" for their purported health benefits. Thomas Guidott set up a medical practice in the English town of Bath in 1668. He became interested in

1564-686: Is known for its more than 500 mineral springs, including the hottest spring in the Balkans at Sapareva Banya - 103 °C. Other famous spa towns include Sandanski , Hisarya , Bankya , Devin , Kyustendil , Varshets , Velingrad . In Bulgarian , the word for a spa is баня (transliterated banya ). Harrison Hot Springs is one of the oldest among 18 in British Columbia; there are also two in Alberta and one in Ontario. In Croatia ,

1656-462: Is located between the rivers Gottleuba and Bahra . The main settlements Bad Gottleuba and Berggießhübel are on the river Gottleuba. Distances from Berggießhübel which is more or less in the centre of the combined spa town: Since 2005 the town has been easily accessible via the A17 express motorway Dresden – Prague . In 1459, the boundaries were fixed between Bohemia and Saxony by a contract between

1748-638: Is rich in thermal waters with health benefits, and many spa towns are popular tourist destinations. Budapest has several spas , including Turkish style spas dating back to the 16th century. Eger also has a Turkish spa. Other famous spas include the ones at Hévíz , Harkány , Bük , Hajdúszoboszló , Gyula , Bogács , Bükkszék , Zalakaros , the Cave Bath at Miskolctapolca and the Zsóry-fürdő at Mezőkövesd . In Italy , spa towns, called città termale (from Latin thermae ), are very numerous all over

1840-478: Is seen historically as part of the Ore Mountains, Chemnitz is seen historically as just lying outside them, but Freiberg is included. The supposed limit of the Ore Mountains continues southwest of Dresden towards the Elbe Sandstone Mountains . From this perspective, its main characteristics, i.e., gently sloping plateaus climbing up to the ridgeline incised by V-shaped valleys , continue to

1932-514: Is the largest spa town in Germany. The most popular spa towns in Greece are Aidipsos , Agkistro, Serres , Loutraki , Kamena Vourla , Kimolos , Loutra Kyllinis , Sidirokastro, Serres , Lakkos Milos , Loutrochori, Aridaia, Pella (Pozar) In Hungary , the word fürdő or the more archaic füred ("bath"), fürdőváros ("spa town") or fürdőhely ("bathing place") implies a spa town. Hungary

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2024-793: The Baltic Sea and south to the Mediterranean following the Amber Road trading route, of great importance in the Bronze Age . Tin mining knowledge spread to other European tin mining districts from Erzgebirge and evidence of tin mining begins to appear in Brittany , Devon and Cornwall , and in the Iberian Peninsula around 2000 BC. These deposits saw greater exploitation when they fell under Roman control between

2116-732: The Bohemian king and Frederick II and Duke William III of Saxony , and the area of the current municipality came to Saxony. In 1813, during the Napoleonic Wars , the area suffered damages from battles between the Russians and the French . In 1880, a railway line from Pirna to Berggießhübel was opened. As the Gottleuba Valley Railway it was extended to Gottleuba in 1905, and it closed in 1976. The Gottleuba Dam in

2208-663: The Central Highlands of Victoria . Most are in and around Daylesford and Hepburn Springs . Daylesford and Hepburn Springs call themselves "Spa Country" and the "Spa Centre of Australia". In Queensland , many towns have mineral springs created by artesian bores into the Great Artesian Basin , often the only or primary water supply to the towns. Some of these towns had periods of popularity as spa towns, including Ararmac , Barcaldine , Dalby , Helidon , Innot Hot Springs , and Muckadilla , mostly in

2300-691: The Elbe . The main geologic feature in the Ore Mountains is the Late Paleozoic Eibenstock granite pluton , which is exposed for 25 miles along its northwest–southeast axis and up to 15 miles in width. This pluton is surrounded by progressive zones of contact metamorphism in which Paleozoic slates and phyllites have been changed to spotted hornfels , andalusite hornfels, and quartzites . Two key mineral centres intersect this pluton at Joachimsthal, one trending northwesterly from Schneeberg through Johanngeorgenstadt to Joachimsthal, and

2392-645: The Gottleuba river was built between 1965 and 1974. Oelsen is the oldest settlement of the municipality, first mentioned in 1169 as Olesnice . The name originates from the Czech olešná , meaning alder bush. It was one of the first colonised areas of the Knights Hospitaller in the Ore Mountains. In 1429, the Hussites destroyed Oelsen. It wasn't rebuilt until the end of the 15th century. In 1517

2484-774: The Lusatian Mountains , the Iser Mountains , the Giant Mountains and the Inner-Bohemian Mountains . At the same time it forms a y-shaped mountain chain, along with the Upper Palatine Forest, Bohemian Forest, Fichtel Mountains , Franconian Forest , Thuringian Slate Mountains and Thuringian Forest , that has no unique name but is characterised by a rather homogeneous climate. According to cultural tradition, Zwickau

2576-717: The Western , Central and Eastern Ore Mountains , separated by the valleys of the Schwarzwasser and Zwickauer Mulde and the Flöha (" Flöha Line "), the division of the western section along the River Schwarzwasser is of a more recent date. The Eastern Ore Mountains mainly comprise large, gently climbing plateaux, in contrast with the steeper and higher-lying western and central areas, and are dissected by river valleys that frequently change direction. The crest of

2668-420: The discovery of large ore deposits the area was further renamed in the 16th century. Petrus Albinus used the name Erzgebirge ("Ore Mountains") for the first time in 1589, in his chronicle. In the early 17th century, the name Meißener Berge ("Meissen Mountains") was temporarily used. A quarter of a century later the names Erzgebirge in German and Rudohoří in Czech became established. The Czech toponym

2760-414: The engineering and textile industries . In 1789 the chemical element uranium was discovered in St. Joachimsthal; then in pitchblende from the same area, radium was discovered by Marie Curie in 1898. In the late 1930s, following the discovery of the nuclear fission , uranium ore became of particular interest for military purposes. After the incorporation of Sudetenland into Germany in 1938 all

2852-703: The loess hill country to the north between Zwickau and Chemnitz is referred to as the Ore Mountain Basin ; that from the Eastern Ore Mountains as the Ore Mountain Foreland . Between Freital and Pirna , the area is called the Dresden Ore Mountain Foreland ( Dresdner Erzgebirgsvorland ) or Bannewitz-Possendorf-Burkhardswald Plateau ( Bannewitz-Possendorf-Burkhardswalder Plateau ). Geologically

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2944-605: The manor of Oelsen was acquired by the Bünau family , who held it until 1762. At the end of World War II , on 9 May 1945, surviving prisoners of a death march from the Porschdorf subcamp of the Flossenbürg concentration camp were liberated near Oelsen. In 1996, Oelsen joined Bad Gottleuba. Markersbach was first documented as Marquardi villa in 1363. Hellendorf was first mentioned as Heldisdorf in 1379. Its school

3036-426: The 12th century onwards, and even the forests owned by the nobility could not cover the growing demand for wood. In the 18th century, industries were encouraged to use coal as fuel instead of timber in order to preserve the forests, and this was enforced in the 19th century. In the early 1960s the first signs of forest dieback were seen in the Eastern Ore Mountains near Altenberg and Reitzenhain , after local damage to

3128-664: The 21st century, the working group Naturhaushalt und Gebietscharakter of the Saxon Academy of Sciences ( Sächsische Akademie der Wissenschaften ) in Leipzig merged the Ore Mountains with the major unit group of Vogtland to the west and the major landscape units of Saxon Switzerland , Lusatian Highlands and Zittau Mountains to the east into one overarching unit, the Saxon Highlands and Uplands . In addition, its internal divisions were changed. Former major unit 420

3220-469: The 9th century, were only used in a general sense for the vast forests of the Central Uplands. Frequently the term Miriquidi is used to refer directly to the Ore Mountains, but it only surfaces twice in the 10th and early 11th centuries, and these sources do not permit a clear identification with the ancient forest that formerly covered the whole of the Ore Mountains and its foreland. Following

3312-472: The Bohemian Way ( antiqua Bohemiae semita ). It was here that Sayda was built, a station on the trade route from Freiberg via Einsiedl , Johnsdorf and Brüx to Prague. In Sayda it joined the so-called salt road that ran from Halle via Oederan and onto Prague. Glass-making was introduced into the region from the second half of the 13th century. The emergence of this branch of trade benefited from

3404-467: The Bohemian mining town of Graupen (Czech Krupka ) its name. With the further settlement of the Ore Mountains in the 15th century, new, rich, ore deposits were eventually discovered around Schneeberg Annaberg and St. Joachimsthal . The Second Berggeschrey started and triggered a massive wave of colonization. In quick succession, new, planned, mining towns were built across the Ore Mountains in

3496-468: The Czech side, is actually the highest town in Central Europe . Only on the relatively inaccessible, less climatically favourable ridges are there still large, contiguous forests, but since the 18th century these have been managed economically. Due to the high demand for timber by the mining and smelting industries, where it was needed for pit props and fuel, large-scale deforestation took place from

3588-748: The Czech–German border, separating the historical regions of Bohemia in the Czech Republic and Saxony in Germany. The highest peaks are the Klínovec in the Czech Republic (German: Keilberg ) at 1,244 metres (4,081 ft) above sea level and the Fichtelberg in Germany at 1,215 metres (3,986 ft). The Ore Mountains have been intensively reshaped by human intervention and a diverse cultural landscape has developed. Mining in particular, with its tips, dams, ditches and sinkholes, directly shaped

3680-716: The Eastern Ore Mountains by narrow fingers of the aforementioned basin. South(east) of the Western Ore Mountains lie the Sokolov Basin , the Eger Graben and the Doupov Mountains . To the north the boundary is less sharply defined because the Ore Mountains, a typical example of a fault-block , descend very gradually. The topographical transition from the Western and Central Ore Mountains to

3772-589: The Eastern Ore Mountains. Here, the artisans were required by Prince-Elector Augustus under the Timber Act of 1560, to buy their wood in Bohemia. Wood from the Saxon Ore Mountains was still needed for the mines and smelters in Freiberg. This export of timber led, among other things, to the construction of an artificial cross-border rafting channel, the Neugrabenflöße , along the river Flöha . Because of

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3864-556: The Elbe Valley zone. The western part of the Ore Mountains is home to the two highest peaks of the range: Klínovec , located in the Czech part, with an altitude of 1,244 metres (4,081 ft) and Fichtelberg , the highest mountain of Saxony, Germany, at 1,214 metres (3,983 ft). The Ore Mountains are part of a larger mountain system and adjoin the Fichtel Mountains to the west and the Elbe Sandstone Mountains to

3956-551: The Helidon Spa falling into disuse by 1994. Many towns in Queensland continue to provide bathing facilities fed by hot springs, but these are promoted as relaxing holiday activities rather than as medical treatments. Brazil has a growing number of spa towns. The traditional ones are: Águas de Lindoia , Serra Negra , Águas de São Pedro , Caxambu , Poços de Caldas , Caldas Novas , Araxá , and São Lourenço . Bulgaria

4048-491: The Ore / ɔːr / Mountains are sometimes referred to as the Ore Mountain Range , but are also sometimes called the Erzgebirge [ˈeːɐ̯tsɡəˌbɪʁɡə] or Erz Mountains / ɛər t s , ɜːr t s / after their German name or the Krušné Mountains / ˈ k r ʊ ʃ n i , - n eɪ / after their Czech name. In Czech they are the Krušné hory [ˈkruʃnɛː ˈhorɪ] , from old Czech krušec , meaning "piece of ore", and were historically known as Rudohoří ,

4140-412: The Ore Mountains reach the city limits of Dresden at the Windberg hill near Freital and the Karsdorf Fault . The V-shaped valleys of the Ore Mountains break through this fault and the shoulder of the Dresden Basin . The Ore Mountains belong to the Bohemian Massif within Europe's Central Uplands, a massif that also includes the Upper Palatine Forest , the Bohemian Forest , the Bavarian Forest ,

4232-428: The Ore Mountains remains unchanged under the title of Southern Ore Mountains ( Süderzgebirge ). The climate of the higher regions of the Ore Mountains is characterised as distinctly harsh. Temperatures are considerably lower all year round than in the lowlands, and the summer is noticeably shorter and cool days are frequent. The average annual temperatures only reach values of 3 to 5 °C. In Oberwiesenthal , at

4324-410: The Ore Mountains was given new life during the First and Second World Wars in order to supply raw materials. Nazi Germany also saw the resumption of silver mining. Afterwards the people returned to the manufacture of wooden products and toys , especially in the Eastern Ore Mountains. The clock industry is centred on Glashütte . In the Western Ore Mountains, economic alternatives were offered by

4416-444: The abundance of excess timber, which was created by clearings and new settlements and which was able to meet the high demand of the glassworks. Monks from Waldsassen Abbey brought a knowledge of the glass manufacture to the Ore Mountains. Most glassworks were located in the vicinity of Moldau , Brandau and the Frauenbach valley . The oldest glassworks site is Ulmbach . This timber-hungry industry lost its importance, however, with

4508-418: The affix). Portugal is well known by famous spa towns throughout of the country. Due to its high quality, as well as the landscape where are located, the most important ones are: In Romania , the word Băile implies a spa town. The most famous spa towns in Romania are Băile Herculane , Băile Felix , Mangalia , Covasna , Călimănești & Borsec . Serbia is known for its many spa cities. Some of

4600-684: The best known springs are the Vrnjačka Banja , Bukovička Banja , Vrujci , Sokobanja and Niška Banja . The hottest spring in Serbia is at Vranjska Banja (96°C) In Serbia, the word Banja implies a spa town. Slovakia is well known by its spa towns. The most famous is the city of Piešťany in Trnava Region . Other notable spa towns in Slovakia include: Spa towns in Slovenia include Rogaška Slatina , Radenci , Čatež ob Savi , Dobrna , Dolenjske Toplice, Šmarješke Toplice, Moravske Toplice , Rimske Toplice , Laško and Topolšica . They offer accommodation in hotels, apartments, bungalows, and camp sites. The Slovenian words terme or toplice imply

4692-405: The boom in mining, which also enjoyed royal patronage. Mining on the Bohemian side of the mountains probably began in the 14th century. An indication of this is a contract between Boresch of Riesenburg and the Ossegg abbot, Gerwig, in which the division of revenue derived from ore was agreed. Grains of tin ( Zinnkörner or Graupen ) were obtained at that time in the Seiffen mining area and gave

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4784-409: The border. From west to east: In the division of Germany into natural regions that was carried out Germany-wide in the 1950s the Ore Mountains formed major unit group 42: Even after the reclassification of natural regions by the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation in 1994 the Ore Mountains, region D16 , remained a major unit group with almost unchanged boundaries. However, at the beginning of

4876-410: The city. A recuperation centre belonging to the Landesversicherungsanstalt Sachsen was built in Gottleuba in 1909. In 1936 the name was officially changed to Bad Gottleuba. Since 1991, the sanatorium which is named Gesundheitspark Bad Gottleuba has been under the charge of TRIA Immobilienanlagen und Verwaltungs-GmbH in Berlin. Berggießhübel was first mentioned as Gyßhobel in 1412. The origin of

4968-463: The country because of the intense geological activity of the territory. These places were known and used since the Roman age. Most spa towns in Poland are located in the Lesser Poland and Lower Silesian Voivodeships. Some of them have an affix " Zdrój " in their name (written with hyphen or separately), meaning "water spring", to denote their spa status, but this is not a general rule (e.g. Ciechocinek and Inowrocław are spa towns, but do not use

5060-481: The crest of the mountains, such as the Freiberg Mines Water Management System or the Reitzenhainer Zeuggraben . Only a few mines remained profitable over a long period. Amongst them was the Himmelsfürst Fundgrube near Erbisdorf , whose 50 continuous years of profitable operation were commemorated in 1818 with the issue of a commemorative coin ( Ausbeutetaler ) and which went on to make a profit continuously until 1848. Thanks to discoveries of rich ore seams it became

5152-505: The curative properties of the hot mineral waters there and in 1676 wrote A discourse of Bathe, and the hot waters there. Also, Some Enquiries into the Nature of the water . This brought the purported health-giving properties of the waters to the attention of the aristocracy, who started to partake in them soon after. The term spa is used for towns or resorts offering hydrotherapy , which can include cold water or mineral water treatments and geothermal baths. There are mineral springs in

5244-409: The decline in industrial production in that period, people without any ties migrated to the interior of Germany or Bohemia. After the discovery of the cobalt blue pigments the mining industry experienced a revival. Cobalt was extracted especially in Schneeberg, and processed in the state paintworks to produce cobalt blue paints and dyes. They succeeded in keeping the method of production secret for

5336-422: The early 1990s. In St. Egidien and Aue there were important nickel smelting sites. In Pöhla in the Western Ore Mountains, during exploratory work for SDAG Wismut new, rich lodes of tin ore were discovered in the 1980s. The test workings of that time are now considered the largest tin finds in Europe. Another well-known place of tin production was Seiffen . The village in the Eastern Ore Mountains has become

5428-408: The east. Past the River Elbe , the mountain chain continues as the Lusatian Mountains . While the mountains slope gently away in the northern (German) part, the southern (Czech) slopes are rather steep. The Ore Mountains are oriented in a southwest–northeast direction and are about 150 km long and, on average, about 40 km wide. From a geomorphological perspective the range is divided into

5520-482: The end of the 14th century Gottleuba was a center for mining, mainly iron, silver, and copper. The last silver mine was closed in 1889. In 1463, Gottleuba received town privileges. In the 16th century, Gottleuba developed guilds with special commercial laws (for example, holding of spring and autumn markets and grant of weekly markets). Wars, disease, large town fires in 1746 and 1865, and the flood disasters of 1552, 1897, 1927, and 1957 again brought considerable setbacks to

5612-433: The forests had become apparent since the 19th century as a result of smelter smoke ( Hüttenrauch ). The German population of the Bohemian part of the Ore Mountains was expelled in 1945 in accordance with to the Beneš decrees . The upper western part of the Ore Mountains, known in German as Erzgebirge , belongs to the Ore Mountains/Vogtland Nature Park . The eastern part, called the Eastern Ore Mountains ( Osterzgebirge ),

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5704-420: The hard rocks. In the Tertiary period these mountain remnants came under heavy pressure as a result of plate tectonic processes during which the Alps were formed and the North American and Eurasian plates were separated. As the rock of the Ore Mountains was too brittle to be folded, it shattered into an independent fault block which was uplifted and tilted to the northwest. This can be very clearly seen at

5796-517: The heartland of the Central European mining industry. New ore discoveries attracted more and more people, and the number of residents on the Saxon side of the mountains continued to rise rapidly. Bohemia, in addition to migration from within the country, also received migration from elsewhere, mainly of German miners, who settled in the mountain villages and in the towns at the edge of the mountains. Under Emperor Ferdinand II an unprecedented Re-Catholicization began in Bohemia from 1624 to 1626, whereupon

5888-409: The heavy amounts of snow a natural Dwarf Mountain Pine region is found near Satzung , near the border to Bohemia at just under 900 m above  sea level (NN) . By comparison, in the Alps these pines do not occur until 1,600 to 1,800 m above  sea level (NN) . The term Saltusbohemicus ("Bohemian Forest") for the region emerged in the 12th century. In the German language

5980-484: The landscape and the habitats of plants and animals in many places. The region was also the setting of the earliest stages of the early modern transformation of mining and metallurgy from a craft to a large-scale industry, a process that preceded and enabled the later Industrial Revolution . The higher altitudes from around 500 m above sea level on the German side belong to the Ore Mountains/Vogtland Nature Park  – the largest of its kind in Germany with

6072-400: The late 11th (and early 12th century) were covered in dense forests were almost completely transformed into a cultural landscape by the mining industry and by settlement . The population density is high right up into the upper regions of the mountains. For example, Oberwiesenthal , the highest town in Germany, lies in the Ore Mountains, and neighbouring Boží Dar (German: Gottesgab ) on

6164-448: The late 1800s and early 1900s when mineral spas were believed to cure various medical conditions. However, the remote locations of most of these towns made them expensive to visit and only small-scale spa facilities developed there. Helidon, a day trip from Brisbane by car, was more successful, particularly with growing owernship of cars after World War II . However, concerns about radioactivity and bacterial contamination resulted in

6256-479: The miners. In addition a dam burst in 1954 at Lengenfeld at a uranium mining waste lake; 50,000 cubic metres of waste water poured down 4 kilometres into the valley. Until 1991 uranium ore was also mined in Aue- Alberoda and Pöhla . Mining operations in Freiberg that had begun in 1168 finally ceased in 1968 after 800 years. In Altenberg and Ehrenfriedersdorf tin mining continued to 1991. The smelting of these ores took place mainly in Muldenhütten until

6348-428: The mining industry and because the search for new ore deposits proved fruitless, the population had to resort to other occupations. Agricultural yields were low, however, and also the demand for wood was reduced by the closure of smelteries. Many people were already active at that time in textile production. However, since that was not enough for subsistence, the manufacture of wooden goods and toys developed, especially in

6440-402: The mining industry. Settlement in the Ore Mountains was slow to begin with, especially on the Bohemian side. The harsh climate and short growing seasons hindered the cultivation of agricultural products. Nevertheless, settlements were supported by the aristocratic Hrabischitz family and established mainly at the foot of the mountains and along mountain streams into the deep woods. In 1168, as

6532-419: The most productive Freiberg mine of the 19th century. But even the excavation of the Rothschönberger Stolln , the largest and most important Saxon drainage adit, which drained the entire Freiberg district, could not stop the decline of mining. Because even before the completion of this technical achievement the German Empire introduced the gold standard in 1871, the price of silver dropped rapidly and led to

6624-743: The mountains themselves forms, in all three regions, a succession of plateaux and individual peaks. To the east it is adjoined by the Elbe Sandstone Mountains and, to the west, by the Elster Mountains and other Saxon parts of the Vogtland . South(east) of the Central and Eastern Ore Mountains lies the North Bohemian Basin and, immediately east of that, the Bohemian Central Uplands which are separated from

6716-468: The name is disputed, one likely explanation is the mountain where ore is melted and poured . In 1548 it received town privileges. The Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) interrupted the iron works. In 1717, medicinal water was found and Berggießhübel became a spa town . The baths were damaged in the Napoleonic Wars, but in 1822 the business was rebuilt by Friedrich August Freiherr von Leyßer . With

6808-456: The names Böhmischer Wald , Beheimer Wald , Behmerwald or Böhmerwald were used, in Czech the name Český les . The last-mentioned names are used today for the mountain range along the Czech Republic's southwestern border ( see: Bohemian Forest ). From earlier research, other names for the Ore Mountains have also appeared in a few older written records. However, the names Hircanus Saltus ( Hercynian Forest) or Fergunna , which appeared in

6900-405: The north of the Ore Mountains, west of Chemnitz and around Zwickau lies the Ore Mountain Basin which is only really known geologically. Here there are deposits of stone coal where mining has already been abandoned. A similar but smaller basin with abandoned coal deposits, the Döhlen Basin , is located southwest of Dresden on the northern edge of the Ore Mountains. It forms the transition to

6992-623: The opening of a railway line from Pirna to Berggießhübel in 1880, the region attracted more visitors. In 1993, the MEDIAN-klinik was opened in the area of Friedrichstal . Langenhennersdorf was first mentioned as Hennici villa in 1356 and was assigned to the Margrave of Meissen in 1404. Bahra was mentioned for the first time in 1524. The name originates from the Old High German bar and para , meaning "cleared forest". Bahra

7084-588: The range. The highest elevation on the Saxon side is the 1,215-metre-high Fichtelberg , which was the highest mountain in East Germany . The Ore Mountains contain about thirty summits with a height over 1,000 m above  sea level (NN) , but not all are clearly defined mountains. Most of them occur around the Klínovec and the Fichtelberg. About a third of them are located on the Saxon side of

7176-591: The southern edge of the Dresden Basin . North of the Ore Mountains the landscape gradually transitions into the Saxon Lowland and Saxon Elbeland . Its cultural-geographical transition to Saxon Switzerland in the area of the Müglitz and Gottleuba valleys is not sharply defined. The highest mountain in the Ore Mountains is the Klínovec (German: Keilberg ), at 1,244 metres, in the Bohemian part of

7268-502: The state, however, was prohibited by the Prince-electors under threat of severe punishment or even death. Towards the end of the 19th century, mining slowly declined again. Drainage costs increased, from the mid-19th century, led to a steady decrease in yield, despite sinking of deeper galleries ( Erbstollen ) and the expansion of ditch and tunnel ( Rösche ) systems for supplying the necessary water for overshot wheels from

7360-592: The third century BC and the first century AD. Demand for tin created a large and thriving network amongst Mediterranean cultures of Classical times . By the Medieval period, Iberia's and Germany's deposits lost importance and were largely forgotten while Devon and Cornwall began dominating the European tin market. From the time of the first wave of settlement, the history of the Ore Mountains has been heavily influenced by its economic development, especially that of

7452-418: The unprofitability of the entire Ore Mountain silver mining industry. This situation was not altered even by short-term discoveries of rich deposits in various mines nor the state's purchase of all the Freiberg mines and their incorporation into the state-owned enterprise, Oberdirektion der Königlichen Erzbergwerke , founded in 1886. In 1913, the last silver mines closed and the company was disbanded. Mining in

7544-484: The upper reaches of the mountains. Since a large part of the precipitation falls as snow , in many years a thick and permanent layer of snow remains until April. The ridges of the Ore Mountains are one of the snowiest areas in the German Central Uplands . Foehn winds, and also the so-called Bohemian Wind may occur during certain specific southerly weather conditions. As a result of the climate and

7636-519: The uranium production facilities were commandeered for the development of nuclear weapons. After the American atomic bomb was dropped on Japan in 1945, Soviet experts searched for evidence of the German nuclear energy project to support Soviet atomic bomb development . Shortly thereafter, the processing of uranium ore for the Soviet Union began in the Ore Mountains under the code name SAG Wismut ,

7728-399: The vicinity of newly discovered ore deposits. Typical examples are the towns of Marienberg , Oberwiesenthal , Gottesgab ( Boží Dar ), Sebastiansberg ( Hora Sv. Šebestiána ) and Platten ( Horní Blatná ). Economically, however, only silver and tin ores were used. From that time, the wealth of Saxony was built on the silver mines of the Ore Mountains. As a metal used for coinage, silver

7820-480: The west, basalt as remnants in the Plešivec (Pleßberg), Scheibenberg , Bärenstein , Pöhlberg , Velký Špičák ( Großer Spitzberg or Schmiedeberger Spitzberg ), Jelení hora ( Haßberg ) and Geisingberg as well as gneisses and rhyolite ( Kahleberg ) in the east. The soils consist of rapidly leaching grus . In the western and central areas of the mountains it is formed from weathered granite. Phyllite results in

7912-928: The word Toplice implies a spa town. The most famous spa towns in Croatia are Daruvar , Šibenik and Sisak . In Czech , the word Lázně implies a spa town. The most famous spa towns in Czech Republic are the West Bohemian Spa Triangle of Karlovy Vary , Františkovy Lázně and Mariánské Lázně , listed on UNESCO World Heritage Site . Other important spas are Luhačovice , Teplice , Jáchymov , Konstantinovy Lázně , Jeseník , Třeboň , Poděbrady , Bechyně or Velké Losiny . Traditionally, Hanko , Rauma and Kalajoki have been considered spa towns. Today there are more than 50 spas ( kylpylä ) in Finland; some towns known for their spa centers include Ikaalinen , Naantali and Imatra . In France ,

8004-950: The words bains , thermes and eaux in city names often imply a spa town. There are more than 50 spa towns in France, including Vichy , Aix-les-Bains , Bagnoles-de-l'Orne , Dax , and Enghien-les-Bains . Borjomi is one such example in south Georgia. In Germany , the word Bad implies a spa town. Among the many famous spa towns in Germany are Bad Aachen , Baden-Baden , Bad Brückenau , Bad Ems , Bad Homburg , Bad Honnef , Bad Kissingen , Bad Kreuznach , Bad Mergentheim , Bad Muskau , Bad Oeynhausen , Bad Pyrmont , Bad Reichenhall , Bad Saarow , Bad Schandau , Bad Schönborn , Bad Segeberg , Bad Soden , Bad Tölz , Bad Wildbad , Bad Wimpfen , Bad Wildstein , Berchtesgaden , Binz , Freudenstadt , Heiligendamm , Heringsdorf , Kampen , Königstein , Radebeul , Schwangau , St. Blasien , Titisee , Tegernsee , Travemünde and Zingst . Wiesbaden

8096-754: Was assigned to the knightly manor ( Rittersgut ) of Langenhennersdorf in 1548. In 1838, a school was opened in Langenhennersdorf. In 1971, Langenhennersdorf and Bahra became a single municipality. The local council has 16 members. Since the elections in May 2014 the CDU has 11 seats and the Left has 5 seats. (in German) Ore Mountains The Ore Mountains ( German : Erzgebirge , Czech : Krušné hory ) lie along

8188-548: Was grouped with the western part of major units 421 and 423 to form a new major unit, the Western Ore Mountains ( Westerzgebirge ), the eastern part of major units 421 and 423 became the Central Ore Mountains ( Mittelerzgebirge ) and major units 422 and 424 became the Eastern Ore Mountains ( Osterzgebirge ). The current division therefore looks as follows: The geographic unit of the Southern Slopes of

8280-517: Was minted on site in the mountain towns into money. The Joachimsthaler coins, minted in the valley of Joachimsthal , became famous and gave their name to the medieval coin known as the Thaler from which the word " dollar " is derived. After the end of the Hussite Wars , the economy in Bohemia, which had been disrupted by the conflict, recovered. In the 16th century the Ore Mountains became

8372-431: Was opened in 1837 and another in 1858. The current school was inaugurated in 1927. In 1970, the two villages were merged into the new municipality Bahratal . Gottleuba was first mentioned in 1363 as Gotlavia , but it probably already existed at the end of the 13th century. In 1298 Gottleuba together with Pirna became a part of Bohemia . In 1405 Pirna and Gottleuba were taken back by the Margrave of Meissen . Already at

8464-431: Was regularly cut off from the outside world. The upper Ore Mountains was therefore nicknamed Saxon Siberia already in the 18th century. The fault block mountain range that climbs from northwest to southeast, and which enables prolonged rain to fall as orographic rain when weather systems drive in from the west and northwest, gives rise to twice as much precipitation as in the lowlands which exceeds 1,100 mm on

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