The Eastern Ore Mountains (german: Osterzgebirge) form a

natural region A natural region (landscape unit) is a basic geographic unit. Usually, it is a region which is distinguished by its common natural features of geography, geology, and climate. From the ecology, ecological point of view, the naturally occurring fl ...

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 ...

that covers the eastern part (in area almost the eastern half) of the Saxon Ore Mountains range. Together with the

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

and

Central Ore Mountains The Central or Middle Ore Mountains (german: Mittlere Erzgebirge or ''Mittelerzgebirge'') is a natural region that forms the central-western part of the Ore Mountains in the German federal state of Saxony. It is part of the overarching unit, the ...

, it is part of the larger

Saxon Highlands and Uplands The Saxon Highlands and Uplands (german: Sächsisches Bergland und Mittelgebirge) refer to a natural region mainly in the south of Saxony with small elements also in southeast Thuringia and northeast Bavaria. It comprises, from (south)west to (nort ...

region. Its southern continuation beyond the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

border covers an area of roughly the same extent in 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 ...

Geography

The region is bounded in the west by the valley of the

Flöha Flöha () is a town in the district of Mittelsachsen, in Saxony, Germany. Flöha is situated on the confluence of the rivers Zschopau and Flöha, east of Chemnitz. Flöha station connects the town to Dresden, Chemnitz, Freiberg, Annaberg-Buch ...

river, itself part of the Central Ore Mountains region. In the northeast it borders on

Saxon Switzerland Saxon Switzerland (german: Sächsische Schweiz) is a hilly climbing area and national park around the Elbe valley south-east of Dresden in Saxony, Germany. Together with the Bohemian Switzerland in the Czech Republic it forms the Elbe Sands ...

, the German (northern) side of the

Elbe Sandstone Mountains The Elbe Sandstone Mountains, also called the Elbe Sandstone Highlands (german: Elbsandsteingebirge; cs, Děčinská vrchovina), are a mountain range straddling the border between the state of Saxony in southeastern Germany and the North Bohemian ...

, at

Bad Gottleuba Bad or BAD may refer to: Common meanings *Evil, the opposite of moral good * Erroneous, inaccurate or incorrect *Unhealthy, or counter to well-being *Antagonist, the threat or obstacle of moral good Acronyms * BAD-2, a Soviet armored trolley ...

. The boundary with the

Ore Mountain Foreland The Saxon Uplands, Saxon HillsElkins, T H (1972). ''Germany'' (3rd ed.). London: Chatto & Windus, 1972. . or Ore Mountain Foreland (german: Erzgebirgsvorland}) is a strip of countryside of about 200 m to high, in the German state of Saxony, that l ...

to the north is rather unclear, roughly running from the town of

along the

Tharandt Forest The Tharandt Forest (german: Tharandter Wald) is a landscape in the centre of the German Free State of Saxony and lies southwest of the forest town of Tharandt, south of the town of Wilsdruff, roughly between the cities of Freiberg and Dresden. ...

Tharandt Tharandt () is a municipality in Saxony, Germany, situated on the Weißeritz, 9 miles southwest of Dresden. It has a Protestant Church and the oldest academy of forestry in Germany, founded as the Royal Saxon Academy of Forestry by Heinrich Cotta ...

. In the south, the crest of the mountain range closely follows the state border with the Czech Republic.Map of the natural regions in Saxony
at www.umwelt.sachsen.de (pdf, 859 kB) The highest point in the German (Saxon) region is the high

Kahleberg Kahleberg (''Bald Mountain'') is a mountain of Saxony, southeastern Germany. History Kahleberg is located 2 kilometres south-west of the mining town Altenberg, which is on the border of the Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simpl ...

. The highest peak on the Czech side is the Loučná (''Wieselstein'', at ). The upper regions of the Eastern Ore Mountains in the district of

Mittelsachsen Mittelsachsen ("Central Saxony") is a district ('' Kreis'') in the Free State of Saxony, Germany. History The district was established by merging the former districts of Döbeln, Freiberg and Mittweida as part of the district reform of August ...

are part of the

Ore Mountains/Vogtland Nature Park The Ore Mountains/Vogtland Nature Park (german: Naturpark Erzgebirge/Vogtland) extends across the upper slopes of the Vogtland and Ore Mountains in southeastern Germany along its international border with Czech Republic. It is the longest natur ...

. The region includes the prominent

Geisingberg The Geisingberg is a striking basalt mountain in the eastern Ore Mountains in the German federal state of Saxony. Location and surrounding area The Geisingberg lies in the upper Eastern Ore Mountains between the mining town of Altenberg and t ...

peak as well as the

Georgenfelder Hochmoor The Georgenfelder Hochmoor is a raised bog (''Hochmoor'') in the German Ore Mountains of central Europe, not far from Zinnwald-Georgenfeld. It is part of a larger bog or moor complex, that lies to the south, mainly on the far side of the Germany' ...

protected area.

Settlements

Rivers and lakes

Nature reserves

The upper areas of the Eastern Ore Mountains are part of the

and include the following nature reserves: *

Black Grouse The black grouse (''Lyrurus tetrix''), also known as northern black grouse, Eurasian black grouse, blackgame or blackcock, is a large game bird in the grouse family. It is a sedentary species, spanning across the Palearctic in moorland and step ...

reserve of Fürstenau * Fürstenau Heath nature reserve * Protected mountain meadows in the Eastern Ore Mountains - a major conservation area with its own unique linear cairns *

nature reserve *

Culture and sights

The Eastern Ore Mountains are also called the Crabapple Mountains due to the large numbers of wild apple and

crabapple ''Malus'' ( or ) is a genus of about 30–55 species of small deciduous trees or shrubs in the family Rosaceae, including the domesticated orchard apple, crab apples, wild apples, and rainberries. The genus is native plant, native to the temper ...

trees.http://www.holzäppel.de
/ref> * Kohlhaukuppe * The " Cross-border Mining Trail" project from Krupka via Geising, Altenberg and Zinnwald to Cinovec-Dubi. File:Osterz.Georgenfelder.Hochmoor.1.JPG, The Georgenfeld Raised Bog - a board walk File:Osterz.Schwartenbergbaude.JPG, Hut on the Schwartenberg (789 m)

References

General sources

* Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN) *
Map services
** Landscape fact files: **

**

**

(in the north of the Eastern Ore Mountains)

Literature

* Peter Rölke (Hrsg.): ''Wander- & Naturführer Osterzgebirge'', Berg- & Naturverlag Rölke, Dresden 2007, * Grüne Liga Osterzgebirge: ''Naturführer Ost-Erzgebirge. Band 1: Tiere und Pflanzen des Ost-Erzgebirges.'' Sandstein Verlag, Dresden 2007, (enthält über 750 Artenbeschreibungen
Digitalisat
(pdf-Dateien der einzelnen Kapitel) * Grüne Liga Osterzgebirge: ''Naturführer Ost-Erzgebirge. Band 2: Natur des Ost-Erzgebirges im Überblick.'' Sandstein Verlag, Dresden 2007, (umfangreiche Darstellung zu Klima, Geologie, Kulturlandschaftsentwicklung
Digitalisat
(pdf-Dateien der einzelnen Kapitel) * Grüne Liga Osterzgebirge: ''Naturführer Ost-Erzgebirge. Band 3: Naturkundliche Wanderziele.'' Sandstein Verlag, Dresden 2007, (detaillierte Darstellung von 26 Teilgebieten des Naturraumes
Digitalisat
(pdf-Datei, 14.7 MB) * Erhard Unger: ''Die Klimaverhältnisse des östlichen Erzgebirges.'' in: Sächsische Heimatblätter, Heft 6/1975, S. 287-290

External links

* http://www.osterzgebirge.net
Nature guide for the Eastern Ore Mountains
{{coord, 50.8, 13.5, type:mountain_region:DE_dim:100km, display=title Central Uplands Geography of the Ore Mountains Natural regions of Saxony Mountain ranges of Saxony