Dreibrüderhöhe or short Brüderhöhe is a mountain of

Saxony Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...

, southeastern

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. It is located near

Marienberg Marienberg is a town in Germany. It was the district capital of the Mittlerer Erzgebirgskreis (Central Ore Mountains district) in the southern part of Saxony, and since August 2008 it has been part of the new district of Erzgebirgskreis. As of ...

and can reached by a road branching off

Bundesstraße 171 ''Bundesstraße'' (German language, German for "federal highway"), abbreviated ''B'', is the denotation for Germany, German and Austrian national highways. Germany Germany's ''Bundesstraßen'' network has a total length of about 40,000 km. ...

, or on hiking routes from Marienberg,

Wolkenstein Wolkenstein is a town in the district Erzgebirgskreis, in Saxony, Germany. It is situated in the Ore Mountains, on the river Zschopau, 22 km southeast of Chemnitz. The town is situated on a rocky spur near the confluence of Zschopau and ...

Lauta Lauta ( Sorbian: ''Łuty'') is a town in the district of Bautzen, in Saxony, Germany. It is situated 10 km west of Hoyerswerda, and 10 km southeast of Senftenberg. History From 1815 to 1945, within the Prussian Province of Brandenburg ...

Großrückerswalde Großrückerswalde is a municipality in the district Erzgebirgskreis, in Saxony, Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after ...

Gehringswalde Gehringswalde, a so-called Waldhufendorf, is situated about 1.5 km east of Wolkenstein in the Ore Mountains. It extends for about 1.5 km along the valley of a stream which joins the Zschopau river ca. 1.5 km west of Warmbad. The ...

, among them the International Mountain Hiking Route Eisenach-Budapest (''EB'') which is now part of the

E3 European long distance path The E3 European long distance path, or just E3 path, is a long-distance footpath that is planned to run from the Portuguese coast to the Black Sea in Bulgaria. It is one of the network of European long-distance paths. Route The completed sectio ...

Etymology

The name of the mountain is derived from a nearby former mine called ''Alte Drei Brüder'' (Old Three Brothers) and originates in a legend, according to which three brothers from Italy had discovered a vein of silver ore there.

Buildings

An 18 m tall

observation tower An observation tower is a structure used to view events from a long distance and to create a full 360 degree range of vision to conduct long distance observations. Observation towers are usually at least tall and are made from stone, iron, an ...

was opened in May 1883 by the Marienberg branch of the

Ore Mountain Club The Ore Mountain Club (german: Erzgebirgsverein) is one of the oldest and most tradition-steeped local history, mountain and hiking clubs in Germany. The club was founded in 1878. After the Second World War the club and its many branches wer ...

, founded in 1878. It had been constructed by Maschinenfabrik C. Reinsch, Dresden, at a cost of 6000

Mark Mark may refer to: Currency * Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina * East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic * Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1927 * Fi ...

. In 1884 the tower was named ''Prinzeß-Marien-Turm'' after the wife of then Prince Georg of Saxony. It became a popular touristic destination, so that in 1886 Gustav Loose, a member of the Marienberg branch of the Ore Mountain Club, opened a restaurant in the nearby mining office (Huthaus) ''Alte Drei Brüder'' which had been erected in 1853/1854. The mountain restaurant ''Dreibrüderhöhe'' remained property of the Loose family until 1977, when it was sold to Gebäudewirtschaft Marienberg (the municipal real estate management) who operated it until 1985. It then passed into the hands of the Marienberg Agricultural Production Cooperative who sold it in 1992. In 1992/1993 it was rebuilt into a hotel (''Berghotel Drei Brüder Höhe''). After access to the 1883 observation tower had been banned by the building inspectorate for several years, and because it stood near a restricted military area, it was pulled down and scrapped in 1977. Later the borough of Marienberg had a new 25.4 m tall observation tower built which was opened on 12 May 1994. It grants a good view across Marienberg and its surroundings. A slightly taller

radio tower Radio masts and towers are typically tall structures designed to support antennas for telecommunications and broadcasting, including television. There are two main types: guyed and self-supporting structures. They are among the tallest human-made ...

is located approximately 60 m north-east of the observation tower in a fenced-in area of restricted access. Mountains of Saxony Mountains of the Ore Mountains Marienberg {{Saxony-geo-stub