The Waldstein is a mountain range in the northern part of the

Fichtel Mountains The Fichtel MountainsRandlesome, C. et al. (2011). ''Business Cultures in Europe'', 2nd ed., Routledge, Abingdon and New York, p. 52. . (german: Fichtelgebirge, cs, Smrčiny), form a small horseshoe-shaped mountain range in northeastern Bavaria ...

Upper Franconia Upper Franconia (german: Oberfranken) is a ''Regierungsbezirk'' (administrative 'Regierungs''region 'bezirk'' of the state of Bavaria, southern Germany. It forms part of the historically significant region of Franconia, the others being Middle F ...

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 ...

, in southern Germany.

Geography

Its highest elevation is the

Großer Waldstein The Großer Waldstein is part of the Waldstein range in the Fichtel Mountains of Germany. It is known primarily for its rock formations caused by spheroidal weathering, its ruined castles and the only remaining bear trap (''Bärenfang' ...

which is high. In addition, the Epprechtstein, the Kleiner Waldstein and the ridge of the Hallerstein Forest, south of the town Hallerstein are all located in this mountain range. To the east the Großer Kornberg is the end of the mountain chain, while in the west it falls gently away at

Gefrees Gefrees () is a town in the Bayreuth (district), district of Bayreuth, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated in the Fichtelgebirge, 21 km northeast of Bayreuth. It was the site of a Battle of Gefrees, battle during the Napoleonic Wars. Referen ...

Geology

Geologically Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Eart ...

the massif consists mainly of

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...

. The history of its

orogeny Orogeny is a mountain building process. An orogeny is an event that takes place at a convergent plate margin when plate motion compresses the margin. An ''orogenic belt'' or ''orogen'' develops as the compressed plate crumples and is uplifted t ...

begins in the

Precambrian The Precambrian (or Pre-Cambrian, sometimes abbreviated pꞒ, or Cryptozoic) is the earliest part of Earth's history, set before the current Phanerozoic Eon. The Precambrian is so named because it preceded the Cambrian, the first period of the ...

about 750–800 million years ago – almost 20% of the

earth's history The history of Earth concerns the development of planet Earth from its formation to the present day. Nearly all branches of natural science have contributed to understanding of the main events of Earth's past, characterized by constant geologic ...

. Only a few of these mountain stump ranges (''Rumpfgebirge'') remain today. File:Kristalle waldstein 002.JPG, Crystal from the Waldstein File:Kristalle waldstein 010.JPG,

Mountain crystal ''Mountain Crystal'' (german: Bergkristall) is a 1949 Austrian-German historical drama film directed by Harald Reinl and featuring a cast of unknown actors including Franz Eichberger, Hans Renz and Cilli Greif. It is a mountain film based on a ...

or berg-crystal File:Tourmaline-118856.jpg,

Tourmaline Tourmaline ( ) is a crystalline silicate mineral group in which boron is compounded with elements such as aluminium, iron, magnesium, sodium, lithium, or potassium. Tourmaline is a gemstone and can be found in a wide variety of colors. The ...

Language and settlement

The eastern part of the Waldstein ridge forms an approximate

linguistic Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...

boundary between the

East Franconian East Franconian (german: Ostfränkisch) or Mainfränkisch, usually referred to as Franconian (') in German, is a dialect which is spoken in Franconia, the northern part of the federal state of Bavaria and other areas in Germany around Nuremberg, ...

and Bavarian

dialect The term dialect (from Latin , , from the Ancient Greek word , 'discourse', from , 'through' and , 'I speak') can refer to either of two distinctly different types of Linguistics, linguistic phenomena: One usage refers to a variety (linguisti ...

s, because settlement developed along the rivers rising in the Fichtelgebirge mountains: the

Saale The Saale (), also known as the Saxon Saale (german: Sächsische Saale) and Thuringian Saale (german: Thüringische Saale), is a river in Germany and a left-bank tributary of the Elbe. It is not to be confused with the smaller Fränkische Saale, ...

White Main The White Main (german: Weißer Main or ''Weißmain'', not to be confused with the Weismain), is the larger and shorter of the two headstreams of the river Main. It rises in the Fichtelgebirge and merges near Steinenhausen, southwest of Kulmbach, ...

Eger Eger ( , ; ; also known by other alternative names) is the county seat of Heves County, and the second largest city in Northern Hungary (after Miskolc). A city with county rights. Eger is best known for its castle, thermal baths, baroque build ...

and

Fichtelnaab The Fichtelnaab is a river in Upper Franconia and the Upper Palatinate, Bavaria, Germany. It rises in the Fichtelgebirge and flows into the Waldnaab near Windischeschenbach. Course The source of the ''Fichtelnaab'' is located on the southeaste ...

Structures

On the ''Großen Waldstein'' is the

Großer Waldstein transmitter 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 ...

. On the ''Epprechtstein'' are the ruins of Epprechtstein Castle.

Maps

* Fritsch Wanderkarte 1:50,000 scale - Fichtelgebirge-Steinwald

Gallery

File:Saalequelle.jpg, Source of the River Saale File:Baerenfang.jpg, Bear trap in the Waldstein File:Waldsteinhaus.jpg, The ''Waldsteinhaus''

External links

Waldstein
{{Authority control Fichtel Mountains Central Uplands Mountain ranges of Bavaria Hof (district)