The Zittau Mountains (german: Zittauer Gebirge, cs, Žitavské hory), formerly also called the Lusatian Ridge (''Lausitzer Kamm''), refer to the German part of the Lusatian Mountains that straddle the

Saxon The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...

n border in the extreme southeast of the German state of Saxony.

Geography

Location

The Zittau Mountains lie in the extreme south of the district of

Görlitz Görlitz (; pl, Zgorzelec, hsb, Zhorjelc, cz, Zhořelec, :de:Ostlausitzer Mundart, East Lusatian dialect: ''Gerlz'', ''Gerltz'', ''Gerltsch'') is a town in the Germany, German state of Saxony. It is located on the Lusatian Neisse River, and ...

in Saxony. A few kilometres north of the range lie a number of settlements; from west to east they are Großschönau,

Hainewalde Hainewalde is a village in Germany on the river Mandau, in the '' Bundesland'' (federal state) of Saxony and the district Görlitz, historically belonging to Upper Lusatia. The village is part of the administrative partnership Großschönau-Walter ...

Olbersdorf Olbersdorf is a municipality in the district Görlitz, 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 Russia, and the ...

Bertsdorf-Hörnitz Bertsdorf-Hörnitz is a municipality in the Görlitz district, Saxony, Germany. Althörnitz Castle was built between 1651 and 1654 for Christian von Hartig, mayor of Zittau Zittau ( hsb, Žitawa, dsb, Žytawa, pl, Żytawa, cs, Žitava, Upp ...

and Zittau. In the mountains themselves are, again from west to east, the settlements of Waltersdorf,

Oybin Oybin ( hsb, Ojbin) is a municipality in the Görlitz district, in Saxony, Germany, located very close to the border of the Czech Republic. Following the defeat of the Protestant armies by the Habsburgs in the Battle of the White Mountain in 162 ...

Jonsdorf The community of Jonsdorf is located in the south of the Kreis Görlitz in the southeast of the German federal state of Saxony. It is embedded into a valley of the Zittau Mountains, part of the Lusatian Mountains. History In 1539 Jonsdorf was fir ...

and Lückendorf . The highlands are drained by streams that flow roughly north into the Mandau, a western tributary of the Lusatian Neisse.

Mountains

Among the highest mountains in the range are the following (in order of height in m above NN:Map services
of the BfN *

Lausche Lausche ( cs, Luž) is the highest peak of the Lusatian Mountains and the highest mountain in the German part of the Upper Lusatia region at . The conical mountain is part of the Zittau Mountains range, situated on the border of the German stat ...

(''Luž''; 792.6 m), German-Czech border mountain, south of Waltersdorf * Hochwald (''Hvozd''; 749.5 m), German-Czech border mountain, south-southwest of Oybin * Jonsberg (652.9 m), east-southeast of Jonsdorf * Buchberg (651.6 m), west of Jonsdorf * Scharfenstein (569.4 m), east of Oybin, north-northwest of Lückendorf *

Breiteberg The Breiteberg is a hill in the Lusatian Highlands in Free State of Saxony, Federal Republic of Germany, with an altitude of above mean sea level. It is the local mountain of Hainewalde, and about half-an-hour's drive from the village. Phonolite ...

(510.1 m), east of Großschönau, south of Hainewalde *

(514.5 m), north of Oybin *

Töpfer Töpfer, also spelled as Toepfer, is a German surname meaning potter. People * Alfred Toepfer (1894–1993), German entrepreneur, founder of Alfred Toepfer Stiftung F.V.S. * Ernst Toepfer (1877–1955), German painter * Johann Gottlob Töpfer ...

(582.0 m), northeast of Oybin, south of Olbersdorf

Places of interest

mountain with castle and monastery ruins * '' Mühlsteinbrüche'', rock formations in

* ''Große Felsengasse'' ("Great Rock Alley") *

mountain *

(792.6m), the highest summit in the Zittau Mountains *

* Scharfenstein * ''Orgel'' (organ) - a rock formation in the Jonsdorfer Felsenstadt * ''

Kelchstein The Kelchstein ("Chalice Rock") is a mushroom rock in the Zittau Mountains near Oybin in the German state of Saxony. Geology The Kelchstein consists of a Cretaceous sandstone with very little cementing material. Its unusual mushroom shape has b ...

'' ("Chalice Rock") a mushroom rock formation * ''Nonnenfelsen'' ("Nun's Rock") near Jonsdorf *

Zittau Narrow Gauge Railway Zittau ( hsb, Žitawa, dsb, Žytawa, pl, Żytawa, cs, Žitava, Upper Lusatian Dialect: ''Sitte''; from Slavic "''rye''" (Upper Sorbian and Czech: ''žito'', Lower Sorbian: ''žyto'', Polish: ''żyto'')) is the southeasternmost city in the Ger ...

* Lusatian timber-frame farmhouses (''Umgebindehäuser''), especially in Waltersdorf,

and Bertsdorf

References

General sources

* BfN *
Map services
** Landscape fact fil

Literature

* Peter Rölke (ed.): ''Wander- & Naturführer Zittauer Gebirge'', Berg- & Naturverlag Rölke, Dresden 2006,

External links

Zittau MountainsMountain biking in the Zittau MountainsDigital climbing guide to the Zittau Mountains
{{Authority control Central Uplands Forests and woodlands of Saxony Görlitz (district) Zittau Natural regions of Saxony Mountain ranges of Saxony Lusatian Mountains Upper Lusatia