The Dreisesselberg (Czech: ''Třístoličník'') is a mountain in

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

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 ...

, in the Bavarian Forest that is 1,333 metres high.

Location

The Dreisesselberg is located in the eastern part of Lower Bavaria in the county of Freyung-Grafenau. It rises southeast of the village of

Haidmühle Haidmühle is a municipality in the district of Freyung-Grafenau in Bavaria in Germany. Geography Geographical location The community lies in the Donau-Wald on the Kalte Moldau in the Bavarian Forest, on the border with the Czech Republic. ...

and northeast of the village of

Neureichenau Neureichenau is a Municipalities of Germany, municipality in the district of Freyung-Grafenau in Bavaria in Germany. References

Freyung-Grafenau {{FreyungGrafenau-geo-stub ...

. The Czech border runs some 370 metres southeast of the summit of the Dreisesselberg. The

tripoint A tripoint, trijunction, triple point, or tri-border area is a geographical point at which the boundaries of three countries or subnational entities meet. There are 175 international tripoints as of 2020. Nearly half are situated in rivers, l ...

between Germany,

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

and the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

lies not far from the summit of the Plöckenstein, about 3 kilometres southeast of the Dreisesselberg (as the crow flies).

Description

At the highest point of the most heavily forested mountain of Dreisessel, called Hochstein, is a distinctive granite rock with a

summit cross A summit cross (german: Gipfelkreuz) is a cross on the summit of a mountain or hill that marks the top. Often there will be a summit register (''Gipfelbuch'') at the cross, either in a container or at least a weatherproof case. Various other form ...

, from which one can enjoy the view. Approximately 450 metres due south of the Dreisesselberg's summit is the Dreisesselfels, three bizarre granite rock formations, with pillow-like shaped rocks formed by

woolsack weathering Spheroidal weathering is a form of chemical weathering that affects jointed bedrock and results in the formation of concentric or spherical layers of highly decayed rock within weathered bedrock that is known as ''saprolite.'' When saprolite ...

. Just north of these rocks is the Dreisesselhaus (1,312 m) and the managed mountain inn of Dreisessel. A few metres to the east runs the German-Czech border. There is a road up to the Dreisesselhaus, so the Dreisselberg is often quite busy. Waymarked hiking trails lead to the summit from all directions, for example, from the Kreuzbachklause, from Haidmühle-Frauenberg or Czech Nové Údolí. On the western slopes of the Dreisesselberg, the Habergrasberg (1,235 m), is the Dreisessel Lift, a ski lift with a base station in Haidmühle-Frauenberg that is no longer in operation. On the Dreisesselberg, on the Bavarian side, is a nature reserve covering about 270 hectares. Those parts of the eastern slopes on Czech territory are part of the

Bohemian Forest National Park Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to: *Anything of or relating to Bohemia Beer * National Bohemian, a brand brewed by Pabst * Bohemian, a brand of beer brewed by Molson Coors Culture and arts * Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, origin ...

. From the Dreisesselberg, a ridge, the Hochkamm, leads across to the

Bavarian Plöckenstein Bavarian is the adjective form of the German state of Bavaria, and refers to people of ancestry from Bavaria. Bavarian may also refer to: * Bavarii, a Germanic tribe * Bavarians, a nation and ethnographic group of Germans * Bavarian, Iran, a vill ...

(1,365 m) and via the

between Germany, Austria and the Czech Republic (1,321 m) to the Austro-Czech border on the main summit of the Plöckenstein (1378.3 m). It runs along the German-Czech border and then on the Austria-Czech border. Just below them is on the Czech territory Plöckensteinersee, the southernmost

glacial lake A glacial lake is a body of water with origins from glacier activity. They are formed when a glacier erodes the land and then melts, filling the depression created by the glacier. Formation Near the end of the last glacial period, roughly 10,0 ...

of the Bohemian Forest. Especially in winter, the Dreisesselberg offers views on the Alps. During the good conditions, it is also possible to observe the Grossglockner (206 km away).

Summit crags

The summit crags with the granites on the Dreisessel have been designated by the

Bavarian Department of the Environment Bavarian is the adjective form of the German state of Bavaria, and refers to people of ancestry from Bavaria. Bavarian may also refer to: * Bavarii, a Germanic tribe * Bavarians, a nation and ethnographic group of Germans * Bavarian, Iran, a vill ...

(LfU) as a geo-scientifically valuable

geotope A geotope is the geological component of the abiotic matrix present in an ecotope. Example geotopes might be an exposed outcrop of rocks, an erratic boulder, a grotto or ravine, a cave, an old stone wall marking a property boundary, and so forth. ...

(Geotope no.: 272R024). They were awarded the official seal of "Bavaria's most beautiful geotopes" by the LfU.

History

According to a legend, which also Adalbert Stifter describes in ''Hochwald'', the kings of Bavaria, Bohemia and Austria gathered on the top of the Dreisesselberg, to negotiate the limits of their dominions. In reality, the name Dreisesselberg ("three chairs") was not used until the 17th century, first for the remarkable group of rocks at the summit, but soon the whole mountain. The actual frontier was only fixed in 1765 between the

Bishopric of Passau The Diocese of Passau is a Roman Catholic diocese in Germany that is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising.Archduchy of Austria The Archduchy of Austria (german: Erzherzogtum Österreich) was a major Princes of the Holy Roman Empire, principality of the Holy Roman Empire and the nucleus of the Habsburg monarchy. With its capital at Vienna, the archduchy was centered at th ...

and surveyed in 1767. As well as mentioning the Dreisesselberg in his story, ''Hochwald'', Adalbert Stifter also mentioned it in his last novel, ''Witiko'', and in his final story, ''Aus dem baierischen Walde'' (both 1867), a literary monument. His reports of the Dreisesselberg was already a popular destination for hikers. In 1888 the Dreisesselberg branch of the

Bavarian Forest Club The Bavarian Forest Club (german: Bayerische Wald-Verein), or BWV, is a German club that promotes culture, local history and folklore, nature and landscape conservation, and walking in the Bavarian Forest. It has its head office in Zwiesel and is ...

had built the first refuge hut on the mountain. Next to this hut built in 1913, the current building was erected, which was modernized in the 1960s.

Gallery

Dreisessel 090301 01.jpg, View looking southwest over the sea of fog in the valley Dreisesselberg (Třístoličník) - Hochstein 2.JPG, Summit cross of the Hochstein Dreisessel 090301 07.jpg, Bishop Neumann Chapel Dreisessel 090301 04.jpg, View looking southeast at the bark-beetle damaged woodland Gesteinsformationen am Dreisesselberg.JPG, Rock formations on the Dreisesselberg Abgestorbener Wald am Dreisesselberg.JPG, View of the Czech side of the Dreisesselberg

References

Bayerisches Landesamt für Umwelt, Geotop ''Gipfelklippen am Dreisesselberg''
(retrieved 10 December 2017).
(retrieved 10 December 2017)

Literature

* Paul Praxl: ''Der Dreiländerberg: Grenzland Bayern-Böhmen-Österreich''. Morsak, Grafenau, 1991,

External links

{{Authority control One-thousanders of Germany Mountains of Bavaria Bohemian Forest Mountains of the Bavarian Forest Freyung-Grafenau