Fichtelberg

The mountain was given its name thanks to the existing natural forests of spruce that covered it (see section on forest history). In the 16th century Georgius Agricola used the Latinised form, Pinifer (Fichtelberg).

The first albeit unreferenced evidence of a building on the summit of the Fichtelberg is found in the Historischen Schauplatz published in 1699 by Christian Lehmann, where it says:

"They certainly say / that a hundred years ago a summer house and hunting lodge / built by the Schönburg lords / were supposedly on top of it / but now there is no longer anything to be found / because it may have given little enjoyment / even a rifle shot and thunderclap up there makes a poor noise / being swallowed up by the air so to speak."

"Man erzehlet zwar / daß vor hundert Jahren ein Lust- und Jagthaus / von den Schönburgischen Herren erbauet / darauf soll gestanden seyn / aber nunmehro ist nichts mehr darauf zu finden / weil es mag wenig Ergötzlichkeit gegeben haben / auch ein Büchsenschuß und Donnerschlag darauf schlechten Knall giebet / sondern von der Lufft gleichsam verschlungen wird."[7]

The first definitely confirmed Fichtelberg house was built on the Fichtelberg in 1888/89 by Oskar Puschmann. It was opened on 21 July 1889 and extended for the first time in 1899. In 1910 the house was expanded again as a result of the popularity of the highest mountain in Saxony. With the construction of the Fichtelberg Cable Car in 1924 the visitor numbers climbed still further.

On the evening of 25 February 1963 a fire broke out in the Fichtelberg House. 180 firemen from across the county of Annaberg were called out and took part in the firefighting. Heavy snowdrifts on the access road meant that all the firefighting equipment had to be transported up the mountain on the cable car. Hoses that had been laid from Oberwiesenthal up to the top of the mountain froze in temperatures of −15 °C and the lack of water meant that they could not put the fire out. The building was razed to its foundation walls.[8]

On 22 June 1965 the foundation stone for a new building was laid. By 1967, a modern Fichtelberg House with an austere, typically East German concrete architecture and integrated, plain, 42 metre-high observation tower had been completed. The GDR made 12 million marks available for its construction. The new Fichtelberg House had seating for around 600. On the ground floor was a large self-service restaurant, on the upper floor was a grill bar, a concert café and a conference room. Well known artists helped design the interior. The wooden walls of the vestibule and the room dividers in the self-service area were by Hans Brockhage. Carl-Heinz Westenburger created a mural for the end wall of the conference room, on which he depicted sporting life on the Fichtelberg. At the end of the 1990 the Fichtelberg House was converted to resemble the old building and re-opened on 18 July 1999.[9] The newly built observation tower is only 31 metres high.

Weather station with meteorological instruments

In 1890 the publican of the Fichtelberg House recorded the first regular weather observations. On 1 January 1916 meteorologists began work in the new weather station. It was founded by Paul Schreiber and expanded into a mountain observatory in 1950. In 2019, measurements at the top were fully automated and the station is no longer staffed. [10]

The Fichtelberg rises above the holiday and winter sports resort of Oberwiesenthal, both connected by the Fichtelberg Cable Car (Fichtelberg-Schwebebahn). This cable car was opened in 1924,[11] the cable is 1,175 m long with a height difference of 305 m. It takes six minutes to travel from the valley to the top of the mountain. Large car parks are available on the lower half of the mountain, but parking near the top is limited. Bus transportation is available in addition to the cable car.

The Fichtelberg Railway (Fichtelbergbahn) terminates at the southeastern foot of the mountain. This narrow gauge line, which runs from Cranzahl to Oberwiesenthal, was opened in 1897 and is 17.349 km long.

The burnt out Fichtelberg Inn on 12 December 2009

The Fichtelberg Inn (Fichtelbergbaude), a building used as a guest house on the road leading up the Fichtelberg, caught fire on 21 November 2009 in a suspected arson attack.[12][13]

View from the top station of the Keilberg on the Czech side of the border

The extensive spruce forests in the area surrounding the Fichtelberg have been constantly utilised since man first settled here and have thus undergone much change. The original vegetation of the highlands and mountain ridges was fundamentally different. Pollen analyses from the Gottesgaber Moor revealed useful information about the former composition of the forest. The main tree species of the Hercynian mixed forest of the highlands - the silver fir (Abies alba), European beech (Fagus sylvatica) and Norway spruce (Picea abies) - occurred in roughly equal proportions of around 30% on the ridgelines. Old church records and forest assessments contain descriptions of the original condition of the forest, showing that the Fichtelberg was covered by mixed forest consisting of the aforementioned tree species. The present dominance of the spruce is primarily a result of human influence. Improper management such as deforestation and high populations of game steadily reduced the proportion of fir and beech trees in favour of spruce. With the beginning of state forestry in Saxony in the early 19th century, the composition of species changed drastically. Forest management, which was focussed on achieving the highest net yield, saw the spruce as the perfect timber resource. Gradually other tree species were planted again.

The exposed situations of the Fichtelberg near the natural treeline provides a good habitat for many rare montane plants. Of particular note is the occurrence of numerous species that are normally found in the Alps or the Tundra of Northern Europe, including the small white orchid, common moonwort, frog orchid, Alpine clubmoss und Alpine coltsfoot.

The following protected areas are found on the Fichtelberg:

• The Fichtelberg Protected Area, established in 1962 and covering 5.48 km² (LSG No. 320795)
• The Fichtelberg and Schönjungfern Valley (Fichtelberg mit Schönjungferngrund) Nature Reserve, on the southern slopes was established in 1961 and covers 18.67 ha in two separate areas (NSG No. 163092)
• The Fichtelberg South Mountainside (Fichtelberg-Südhang) Nature Reserve to the southwest of the Fichtelberg and Schönjungfern Valley reserve, established in 1997, which comprises a number of separate areas covering 73.15 ha (NSG No. 163093).
• The Cane or Reed Meadow (Rohr- oder Schilfwiese) to the west on the Kleiner Fichtelberg formed in 1967 and covering 5.25 ha (NSG No. 165205).

These areas overlap with the Fichtelberg Meadows (Fichtelbergwiesen) Habitat Area (FFH No. 5543-304).[14]