The Božídarský Špičák () is the third highest mountain of the

Ore Mountains The Ore Mountains (, or ; ) lie along the Czech–German border, separating the historical regions of Bohemia in the Czech Republic and Saxony in Germany. The highest peaks are the Klínovec in the Czech Republic (German: ''Keilberg'') at ab ...

. It lies in the

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

near the highest town in Central Europe,

Boží Dar Boží Dar () is a town in Karlovy Vary District in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 300 inhabitants. Situated in the Ore Mountains at above sea level, it is considered the highest town in the Czech Republic. The town ...

Location and surrounding area

The Božídarský Špičák lies two kilometres southwest of

on the plateau of the Ore Mountains. The summit and the southern slopes belong to the municipal territory of

Jáchymov Jáchymov (; or ''Joachimsthal'') is a spa town in Karlovy Vary District in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 2,300 inhabitants. Jáchymov has a long mining tradition, thanks to which it used to be the second most popu ...

, the northern slopes belong to Boží Dar. At the western foot of the summit there is an observation point near the ruins of the Spitzberghäuser, including those of the inn, ''Zur Wunderblume''. To the northwest on the Černá creek is the Myslivny Reservoir.

Geology

The Božídarský Špičák is the highest nephiline

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...

summit (''

kuppe A ''Kuppe'' is the term used in German-speaking central Europe for a mountain or hill with a rounded summit that has no rock formation, such as a tor, on it. A range of such hills is called a ''Kuppengebirge''. In geology the term also refers t ...

'') in Central Europe.

Nature

The summit and the surrounding area with the peat bogs is protected as the Božídarské rašeliniště National Nature Reserve. For nature conservation reasons its summit is not open to the public.

History

Towards the end of the 19th century a wooden observation tower was erected on the summit, the key to which had to be borrowed from the Spitzberghäusern. However, after a few years the tower fell into ruins due to the effects of the weather and had to be demolished.

Views

From the western foot of the Božídarský Špičák there is a panoramic view of the Ore Mountain ridge towards the west between Plešivec and

Auersberg Auersberg is a mountain in the Ore Mountains in Saxony, southeastern Germany. Auersberg is above sea level. It is located in the district of Wildenthal not far from the Czech border southeast of Eibenstock and northwest of Johanngeorgensta ...

. To the south the view offers, where it is not blocked by trees, views of the valley of the river

Ohře The Ohře (), also known in English and German as Eger (), is a river in Germany and the Czech Republic, a left tributary of the Elbe River. It flows through the Bavarian district of Upper Franconia in Germany, and through the Karlovy Vary Region ...

References