The Nußhardt is the third highest mountain in the

Fichtel The Fichtel Mountains (, ; ) is a mountain range in Germany and the Czech Republic. They extend from the valley of the Red Main River in northeastern Bavaria to the Karlovy Vary Region in western Czech Republic. The Fichtel Mountains contain an ...

Mountains in the south German state of

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

at . It lies in the far northeast of the state and has a rocky summit characteristic of the Fichtel Mountains (coarse-grained ''Kern Granite'' G3 and

augen gneiss Gneiss (pronounced ) is a common and widely distributed type of metamorphic rock. It is formed by high-temperature and high-pressure metamorphic processes acting on formations composed of igneous or sedimentary rocks. This rock is formed under p ...

at the southeast end). The summit area with its

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and

tor Tor, TOR or ToR may refer to: Places * Toronto, Canada ** Toronto Raptors * Tor, Pallars, a village in Spain * Tor, former name of Sloviansk, Ukraine, a city * Mount Tor, Tasmania, Australia, an extinct volcano * Tor Bay, Devon, England * Tor ...

is a nature reserve with an area of . In addition the Nußhardt is incorporated into the

geotope A geotope is the geological component of the abiotic matrix present in an ecotope. Example geotopes might be an exposed outcrop of rocks, an erratic boulder, a grotto or ravine, a cave, an old stone wall marking a property boundary, and so forth. ...

Location

The Nußhardt lies on the FGV's main hill trail between the FGV hostel of Seehaus and the Schneeberg, the highest mountain in the range. The climbing area is looked after by the local FGV branch at Vordorf.

Legends

On the rocky viewing point, there are eight small bowl-shaped hollows in the granite, known as

druid A druid was a member of the high-ranking priestly class in ancient Celtic cultures. The druids were religious leaders as well as legal authorities, adjudicators, lorekeepers, medical professionals and political advisors. Druids left no wr ...

bowls. In former centuries, these hollows were believed to be sacrificial bowls used in heathen cults. However, it is now understood that they are a unique form of weathering in the granite. Another notable feature is the ''Nußhardtstube'', also referred to as the 'Nußhardt parlour'. This covered chamber stretches approximately 50 m in length and has a low entrance located on the southern side of the rocks.

Name

In the records of the Berneck office in 1536 the Nußhardt appears as ''Nusser'', and again in a margraviate forest inspection report of 1536. Its spelling in the records and literature varies: ''Nusser, Nosser, Nußhardt'' – there has been no lack of interpretations for these names, but none has been really convincing.

Climbing area

As early as 1880 the first steps to the highest point of the Nußhardt tor were erected by the Fichtel Mountains branch of the German-Austrian Alpine Club to give "better views" of the Schneeberg, Ochsenkopf, the Fichtelsee, the

Franconian Jura The Franconian Jura ( , , or ) is an upland in Franconia, Bavaria, Germany. Located between two rivers, the Danube in the south and the Main in the north, its peaks reach elevations of up to and it has an area of some 7053.8 km2. Emil Mey ...

and the Kemnather Land.

Sources

* Herrmann, Detmar : Lexikon Fichtelgebirge, Ackermann Verlag Hof/Saale * Der Siebenstern, Vereinszeitschrift des Fichtelgebirgsvereins e. V., Theresienstraße 2, 95632 Wunsiedel Maps: *Fritsch Wanderkarte 1:50.000

External links

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was on the Nußhardt in the Fichtelgebirge
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nusshardt Mountains of Bavaria Mountains of the Fichtel Mountains Mountains under 1000 metres