High Fichtel Mountains

The High Fichtel Mountains[1] (German: Hohes Fichtelgebirge), or High Fichtel,[2] form a mountainous and heavily forested range consisting of several mountain chains in the shape of a horseshoe, the Fichtel Mountain Horseshoe (Fichtelgebirgs-Hufeisen), that rings the Selb-Wunsiedel Plateau.

High Fichtel
(Hohes Fichtelgebirge)
Location of the High Fichtel
Highest point
PeakSchneeberg
Elevation1,051 m above NN
Geography
The High Fichtel within northeastern Bavaria
StateBavaria, extreme east of the Czech Republic
Range coordinates50°03′00″N 11°51′00″E
Parent rangeThuringian-Franconian Highlands
View of the High Fichtel mountains
The High Fichtel seen from the Waldstein
Vies of the Fichtelsee and Mehlmeisel from the Schneeberg
The transmission tower on the Schneeberg in Aug 2007

As a natural region the High Fichtel Mountains are major unit 394 within the major unit group of the Thuringian-Franconian Highlands (39), that run from the Thuringian Forest to the Fichtel Mountains.[3][4] Since September 2010 there is a new system for classifying the natural regions of northeast Bavaria, whereby the natural region of the High Fichtel only covers the central mountain region of the Scheeberg, Ochsenkopf and Kösseine, whilst the Waldstein ridge, the Steinwald and lower parts of the horseshoe represent special subordinate natural regions of the Fichtel Mountains.[5]

Geography

The High Fichtel Mountains begin in the northeast at the Kornberg, continue via the Waldstein, Schneeberg, Ochsenkopf and Königsheide in the southwest to the Kösseine, then over the Steinwald and Reichsforst to the Kohlwald in the southeast.

In the geomorphological division of the neighbouring Czech Republic, the Asch Hills (German: Ascher Hügelland; Czech: Ašská vrchovina), the Haslau Hills (Haslauer Hügelland or Hazlovská pahorkatina) and the Eger Hills (Egerer Hügelland or Chebská pahorkatina) are counted as part of the (High) Fichtel range.[6]

Geology

Geologically the mountain range consists mainly of granite. The history of its orogeny begins in the Pre-Cambrian about 750–800 million years ago – covering almost 20% of the earth's history, something which only applies to a few of the surviving ranges of the truncated Central Uplands of Germany today.

Mountains

The mountains of the High Fichtel include the following, sorted by their elevation in metres (m) above sea level (NN):

Mountain Height (m) Remarks
Schneeberg1.051Highest mountain in the Fichtel range, Haberstein (923 m) on its southwestern slopes
Ochsenkopf1.024Winter sport, chair and drag lifts, Weißmainfelsen (906 m) on the eastern slopes
Nußhardt972
Seehügel953 Ahornfels (910 m) on southwestern slope
Platte (Steinwald)946
Kösseine939 Subpeak of Kleine Kösseine (922 m)
Platte (Schneeberg)885
Burgstein (Kösseine)879 Burgsteinfelsen at 869.2 m, Luisenburg Kreuzfelsen (785 m) at northern foot
Großer Waldstein877Winter sport, cross-country skiing trails
Rudolfstein (Schneeberg)866 Rock formation at the summit and Drei Brüder formation (850 m) 500 m to the southwest
Hohberg (Königsheide)863Winter sport, drag lifts
Weißenstein (Steinwald)863
Bergkopf (Waldstein)857 25 m high (817 m above NHN) graniterock formation of Hoher Stein at northeastern foot
Haberstein (Kösseine)848
Großer Kornberg827Winter sport, drag lift and cross-country skiing trails
Hohe Matze813 Prinzenfelsen (751 m) rock formation
Epprechtstein (Waldstein)798Winter sport, cross-country skiing trails
Lehstenberg768
Schauerberg (Kösseine)767
Schauerberg (Schneeberg)732
Armesberg731
Rabenberg (Schönwald)713
Pfaffenberg (Schönwald)710
Steinberg (Reichsforst)705
Ruheberg (Reichsforst)692Summit region is a nature reserve
Wenderner Stein686
Teichelberg685
Fürstenstein (Fichtel)675
Výhledy (German: Oberkunreuthberg)656Brunnenhaus
Sieben-Linden-Berg643Winter sport, drag lift
Zelená hora (German: Grünberg)637transmission tower, viewing tower
Kohlberg (Kohlwald)632observation tower
Glasberg628Dreifaltigkeitskirche Kappl
Dietzenberg626
Lehenbühl620near Konnersreuth
Elmberg (Reichsforst)618
Gossenbühl616
Konnsbühl613near Konnersreuth

Settlements

Lakes and rivers

Transport

References

  1. From Paleozoic to Quaternary: A Field Trip from the Franconian Alb to Bohemia edited by Ludwig Zöller. Retrieved 28 Jan 2014.
  2. Travel Munich by MobileReference. Retrieved 28 Jan 2014.
  3. E. Meynen and J. Schmithüsen: Handbuch der naturräumlichen Gliederung Deutschlands – Bundesanstalt für Landeskunde, Remagen/Bad Godesberg 1953-1962 (9 issues in 8 books, updated (1960) 1:1,000,000 map with major units)
  4. Map services of the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation
  5. Karl Heinrich Vollrath: Viola in Nordostbayern (Seite 132-133)
  6. Smrčiny (Fichtelgebirge)

Sources

  • Fritsch Wanderkarte 1:50.000 Fichtelgebirge-Steinwald, ISBN 978-3-86116-052-6
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