The Großer Finsterberg is a

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited Summit (topography), summit area, and ...

, , in the

Thuringian Forest The Thuringian Forest (''Thüringer Wald'' in German), is a mountain range in the southern parts of the German state of Thuringia, running northwest to southeast. Skirting from its southerly source in foothills to a gorge on its north-west side i ...

not far from the villages of Stützerbach and

Schmiedefeld am Rennsteig Schmiedefeld am Rennsteig is a village and a former municipality in Thuringia, Germany. Formerly in the district Ilm-Kreis, it is part of the town Suhl since January 2019. Gallery File:Winter in Schmiedefeld am Rennsteig.jpg, Schmiedefeld am Ren ...

. It is the third highest peak in the German state of

Thuringia Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million. Erfurt is the capital and larg ...

Description

The volcanic origin of the Großer Finsterberg may be seen clearly from the conical shape of its summit, which tilts markedly towards the west. Apart from the summit plateau, the mountain is completely covered by a nearly natural

cotton Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus ''Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor perce ...

and reed grass

spruce A spruce is a tree of the genus ''Picea'' (), a genus of about 35 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal (taiga) regions of the Earth. ''Picea'' is the sole genus in the subfami ...

woodland and in most places there is no

shrub layer Stratification in the field of ecology refers to the vertical layering of a habitat; the arrangement of vegetation in layers. It classifies the layers (sing. ''stratum'', pl. ''strata'') of vegetation largely according to the different heights to w ...

. On the plateau a special mountain pasture vegetation has formed with baldmoney, veronica and

St. John's wort ''Hypericum perforatum'', known as St. John's wort, is a flowering plant in the family Hypericaceae and the type species of the genus ''Hypericum''. Possibly a hybrid between '' H. maculatum'' and '' H. attenuatum'', the species can be found a ...

Location

Subpeaks and boundaries

One kilometre away to the north-northeast is its smaller brother, the Kleiner Finsterberg or ''Finsterberger Köpfchen'' (). Two less spectacular eastern subpeaks, 2 to 3 kilometres distant both bear the name ''Rosenkopf'' ( and ). To the west, northwest and north the Finsterberg is bounded by the

Freibach Freibach is a river of Thuringia, Germany. At its confluence with the Taubach and the Lengwitz near Stützerbach, the Ilm is formed. See also *List of rivers of Thuringia A list of rivers of Thuringia, Germany: A *Alster * Apfelstädt ...

and, to the southeast, by the

Taubach Taubach is a river of Thuringia, Germany. At its confluence with the Freibach and the Lengwitz near Stützerbach, the Ilm is formed. See also *List of rivers of Thuringia A list of rivers of Thuringia, Germany: A * Alster * Apfelstädt ...

, both headstreams of the

Ilm Ilm or ILM may refer to: Acronyms * Identity Lifecycle Manager, a Microsoft Server Product * ''I Love Money,'' a TV show on VH1 * Independent Loading Mechanism, a mounting system for CPU sockets * Industrial Light & Magic, an American motion pic ...

Neighbouring peaks

Two kilometres to the southwest and separated by the

Rennsteig The () is a ridge walk as well as an historical boundary path in the Thuringian Forest, Thuringian Highland and Franconian Forest in Central Germany. The long-distance trail runs for about from and the valley in the northwest to and the r ...

(ca. 800 metres away), is the

Großer Eisenberg Grosser or Großer is the masculine nominative singular form of the German adjective "gross", meaning "big", "great", "large", "tall", and the like. It is part of many placenames, especially of mountains. It is also a surname. People with that surn ...

(). To the northwest, four to five kilometres away, are the two main summits of the range, the

Schneekopf The Schneekopf near Gehlberg in the Thuringian county of Ilm-Kreis is and thus the second highest peak in the Thuringian Forest after its western neighbour, the Großer Beerberg (). The ''Adler'' Saddle between them is only about 59.4 metres ...

() and the

Großer Beerberg The Großer Beerberg is a mountain, , whose summit is the highest point in the Thuringian Forest and the state of Thuringia. It is located between the three villages of Heidersbach, Goldlauter and Gehlberg in the borough of Suhl. The mountain is ...

(), both of which are higher than the Finsterberg.

History

Since the middle of the 18th century at the ''Mordfleck'' (1.5 kilometres east of the summit) and at the ''Blauer Stein'' (1 km away to the northwest), stone coal has been mined. Towards the end of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, soldiers' graves were dug on the mountainside. From 1954 to 1990 the summit of the Großer Finsterberg was used by the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

for military purposes and was thus

out of bounds In sports, out of bounds (or out-of-bounds) refers to being outside the playing boundaries of the field. Due to the chaotic nature of play, it is normal in many sports for players and/or the ball to go out of bounds frequently during a game. T ...

to the public.

View

Between 1999 or 2001 and 2017 or 2018, a wooden observation platform stood at the summit of the Großer Finsterberg. , there are plans to reinstate the tower. The original tower gave views of the

Kickelhahn Kickelhahn is a mountain in the northern edge of the Central Thuringian Forest in the municipal area of Ilmenau, Germany. Its summit has an altitude of a.s.l. Geography Kickelhahn is the highest point in the municipal area of Ilmenau and i ...

, the ''Ringberg'' on the Adlersberg near

Suhl Suhl () is a city in Thuringia, Germany, located SW of Erfurt, NE of Würzburg and N of Nuremberg. With its 37,000 inhabitants, it is the smallest of the six urban districts within Thuringia. Together with its northern neighbour-town Zella- ...

, the

Dolmar Makita Engineering Germany GmbH (Dolmar) is one of the oldest manufacturers of portable gasoline chainsaws and is headquartered in Hamburg, Germany. The company founder, Emil Lerp, developed in 1927 the "type A" saw, which weighed and required ...

near

Meiningen Meiningen () is a town in the southern part of the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in the region of Franconia and has a population of around 25,000 (2021).

and the only two mountains in Thuringia that are higher the

() and the

() below whose summits the

Schmücke The Schmücke is a ridge of hills in Thuringia, Germany. Geography Together with the Hohe Schrecke, the Finne and the Hainleite, the Schmücke borders the northern rim of the Thuringian Basin. It lies between Hauteroda, Oberheldrungen, Heldru ...

may also be seen. On the east side there is a small hut with another observation point.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Finsterberg, Grosser Mountains under 1000 metres Mountains of Thuringia Thuringian Forest Ilm-Kreis