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Fichtel Mountains
The Fichtel Mountains (German: Fichtelgebirge, pronounced [ˈfɪçtl̩ɡəˌbɪʁɡə] ⓘ; Czech: Smrčiny) is a mountain range in Germany and the Czech Republic. They extend from the valley of the Red Main River in northeastern Bavaria to the Karlovy Vary Region in western Czech Republic. The Fichtel Mountains contain an important nature park, the Fichtel Mountain Nature Park. The Elster Mountains are a part of the Fichtel Mountains.
The first person to write about the Fichtel Mountains, Matthias of Kemnath (actually Matthias Widmann, born 23 February 1429 in Kemnath) reported in 1476: Ein bergk, hoch, weitt, wolbekant ligt in Beiern, gnant der Fichtelberg ("A mountain, high, wide and well-known, lies in Bavaria, known as the Fichtelberg"). In descriptions of the border in 1499 and 1536, the mountain that is now called the Ochsenkopf was called Vichtelberg; thereafter the name was extended to the whole mountain region. It is also mentioned in old documents: around 1317 the lords of Hirschberg were enfeoffed inter alia with the walt zu dem Vythenberge. By the 14th century iron ore was being extracted in the St. Veith Pit on the southern foot of the mountain. Vyth → Veit → Fichtel. High-profile local-history and name researchers have still not had the last word.
A folk etymology connecting the name Fichtelgebirge with the German word Fichte (meaning "spruce tree") fails to account for the typically non-spruce forests which predominated in the area at the time when the name Fichtelgebirge became established.
The Fichtel Mountains have an area of about 1,600 square kilometres (620 sq mi). The Czech part has an area of 289 km2 (112 sq mi). The Fichtel Mountain Nature Park in Germany has an area of 1,020 km2 (390 sq mi).
The Fichtel Mountains lie between the towns of Hof and Weiden. In the west there is a good transport link to the nearby city of Bayreuth.
The county town in the heart of the Fichtel Mountains is Wunsiedel with its Luisenburg Rock Labyrinth. Other main settlements are Marktredwitz, Marktleuthen, Arzberg, Röslau, Bad Weißenstadt, Waldershof, Kirchenlamitz and Tröstau (all on the upper reaches of the Ohře and the Röslau rivers). The largest settlement in the Czech part of the Fichtel Mountains is Aš.
Further to the southeast and south are Bischofsgrün, Fichtelberg, Mehlmeisel, Nagel, Neusorg, Speichersdorf, Kemnath, Erbendorf, Wiesau and Fuchsmühl, in the west are Weidenberg, Creußen, Bayreuth, Goldkronach, Bindlach and Bad Berneck, in the northwest are Gefrees, Zell im Fichtelgebirge, Weißdorf, Münchberg (Obere Saale), and in the north Selb, Rehau and Hof.
The boundary between the (East) Franconian dialect in the north and west and the (North) Bavarian and Upper Palatine dialects in the east and south runs diagonally through the Fichtel from northeast to southwest. This language border does not coincide with the administrative boundary of Upper Franconia and the Upper Palatinate, but, for example, Bavarian is also spoken in the Upper Franconian district of Wunsiedel. Moreover, there are descendants of those who, after World War II came from Bohemia, Moravia, Silesia and East Prussia into the Fichtel Mountains, and who make up a significant percentage of the population.
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Fichtel Mountains
The Fichtel Mountains (German: Fichtelgebirge, pronounced [ˈfɪçtl̩ɡəˌbɪʁɡə] ⓘ; Czech: Smrčiny) is a mountain range in Germany and the Czech Republic. They extend from the valley of the Red Main River in northeastern Bavaria to the Karlovy Vary Region in western Czech Republic. The Fichtel Mountains contain an important nature park, the Fichtel Mountain Nature Park. The Elster Mountains are a part of the Fichtel Mountains.
The first person to write about the Fichtel Mountains, Matthias of Kemnath (actually Matthias Widmann, born 23 February 1429 in Kemnath) reported in 1476: Ein bergk, hoch, weitt, wolbekant ligt in Beiern, gnant der Fichtelberg ("A mountain, high, wide and well-known, lies in Bavaria, known as the Fichtelberg"). In descriptions of the border in 1499 and 1536, the mountain that is now called the Ochsenkopf was called Vichtelberg; thereafter the name was extended to the whole mountain region. It is also mentioned in old documents: around 1317 the lords of Hirschberg were enfeoffed inter alia with the walt zu dem Vythenberge. By the 14th century iron ore was being extracted in the St. Veith Pit on the southern foot of the mountain. Vyth → Veit → Fichtel. High-profile local-history and name researchers have still not had the last word.
A folk etymology connecting the name Fichtelgebirge with the German word Fichte (meaning "spruce tree") fails to account for the typically non-spruce forests which predominated in the area at the time when the name Fichtelgebirge became established.
The Fichtel Mountains have an area of about 1,600 square kilometres (620 sq mi). The Czech part has an area of 289 km2 (112 sq mi). The Fichtel Mountain Nature Park in Germany has an area of 1,020 km2 (390 sq mi).
The Fichtel Mountains lie between the towns of Hof and Weiden. In the west there is a good transport link to the nearby city of Bayreuth.
The county town in the heart of the Fichtel Mountains is Wunsiedel with its Luisenburg Rock Labyrinth. Other main settlements are Marktredwitz, Marktleuthen, Arzberg, Röslau, Bad Weißenstadt, Waldershof, Kirchenlamitz and Tröstau (all on the upper reaches of the Ohře and the Röslau rivers). The largest settlement in the Czech part of the Fichtel Mountains is Aš.
Further to the southeast and south are Bischofsgrün, Fichtelberg, Mehlmeisel, Nagel, Neusorg, Speichersdorf, Kemnath, Erbendorf, Wiesau and Fuchsmühl, in the west are Weidenberg, Creußen, Bayreuth, Goldkronach, Bindlach and Bad Berneck, in the northwest are Gefrees, Zell im Fichtelgebirge, Weißdorf, Münchberg (Obere Saale), and in the north Selb, Rehau and Hof.
The boundary between the (East) Franconian dialect in the north and west and the (North) Bavarian and Upper Palatine dialects in the east and south runs diagonally through the Fichtel from northeast to southwest. This language border does not coincide with the administrative boundary of Upper Franconia and the Upper Palatinate, but, for example, Bavarian is also spoken in the Upper Franconian district of Wunsiedel. Moreover, there are descendants of those who, after World War II came from Bohemia, Moravia, Silesia and East Prussia into the Fichtel Mountains, and who make up a significant percentage of the population.