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Schneeberg (Fichtelgebirge)
Encyclopedia
Fichtelgebirge
The Fichtelgebirge is a mountain range in northeastern Bavaria, Germany. It extends from the valley of the Red Main River to the Czech border, a few foothills spilling over into the Czech Republic. It continues in a northeastern direction as the Ore Mountains, and in a southeastern direction as...
, a mountain range in Upper Franconia
Upper Franconia
Upper Franconia is a Regierungsbezirk of the state of Bavaria, southern Germany. It forms part of the historically significant region of Franconia , all now part of the German Federal State of Bayern .With more than 200 independent breweries which brew...
in northeast Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
, Germany. It can be readily identified from a distance by its squat tower - a relic of the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
. The summit comprises a jumble of granite rocks and a rock pillar (Felsburg) on which the Backöfele observation tower stands and is still dominated by the relics of military installations including its Cold War listening post.
Name
The name Schneeberg may be derived from snede ("border"). However, it is more likely that the name comes from Schnee ("snow") and the fact that the mountain is snow-capped for long periods of time.The group of rocks at the highest point on the mountain is called Backöfele ("baking oven"), after which the observation tower was named. In the Thirty Years' War
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was fought primarily in what is now Germany, and at various points involved most countries in Europe. It was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history....
, folk from the surrounding village are supposed to have fled to this place where they baked their bread.
History
The mountain has always had great strategic significance due to its commanding field of view. In 1498 Captain Kunz von Wirsberg, captain of the Gebürg, was assigned by the margraveMargrave
A margrave or margravine was a medieval hereditary nobleman with military responsibilities in a border province of a kingdom. Border provinces usually had more exposure to military incursions from the outside, compared to interior provinces, and thus a margrave usually had larger and more active...
in Bayreuth to establish a warning system. As a result he set up a network of observation posts on various mountains in the Fichtelgebirge that in time of danger had to send beacon or smoke signals to the neighbouring posts. The Schneeberg was one of these posts. In 1520 the villagers of Weißenstadt had to establish a permanent sentry position here. In 1713 the ruins of this post could still be seen.
In 1879 the Fichtelgebirge branch of the German-Austrian Alpine Club (predecessor of the Fichtelgebirge Club
Fichtelgebirge Club
The Fichtelgebirge Club is a large walking club and local heritage society in Bavaria and recognised conservation group with 20,000 members in 55 local groups. As the name says, its main sphere of activity is in the Fichtelgebirge mountains in north Bavaria...
or Fichtelgebirgsverein) built the first simple platform on the rock summit; at the same time a rude stone hut was erected. In 1904 a log cabin followed and in 1926 the Weißenstadt group of the Fichtelgebirge Club built the observation tower Backöfele from oak logs.
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
had a 35 metre high wooden tower built on the mountain, the purpose of which was kept "secret". In 1942 it was razed for "unexplained reasons". On 14 November 1951 US Forces
United States armed forces
The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. They consist of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard.The United States has a strong tradition of civilian control of the military...
requisitioned part of the summit and erected various buildings and steel structures for antennas and parabolic mirrors. In 1961 the German Armed Forces (the Bundeswehr
Bundeswehr
The Bundeswehr consists of the unified armed forces of Germany and their civil administration and procurement authorities...
) took over the area to the north of the summit and, in 1967, communication sector (Fernmeldesektor) "E" took up its surveillance role in a new tower. The top of the mountain was a military out-of-bounds area and the Backöfele was now "behind the wire". Following the easing of military tension in Europe in the early 1990s, the US Forces left the Schneeberg on 30 April 1992 and, on 31 March 1993, the Bundeswehr closed its military surveillance mission. The last soldier left the Schneeberg air defence site (Luftverteidigungsstellung Schneeberg) on 30 June 1994 and the real estate was transferred to the Federal Finance Department (Bundesvermögensverwaltung). The former Bundeswehr tower was rented to the firm of Mannesmann
Mannesmann
Mannesmann AG was a German corporation with headquarters in Düsseldorf. The company was founded in 1890 originally to produce seamless steel tubes. It was traded on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. The company had 130,860 employees worldwide and revenues of €23.27 billion.Over time, Mannesmann...
(now Vodafone
Vodafone
Vodafone Group Plc is a global telecommunications company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the world's largest mobile telecommunications company measured by revenues and the world's second-largest measured by subscribers , with around 341 million proportionate subscribers as of...
) for mobile phone
Mobile phone
A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...
use.
On 29 December 1995, on the initiative of the district administrator (Landrat) Dr. Peter Seißer, Wunsiedel county
Wunsiedel (district)
Wunsiedel is a Kreis in the northeastern part of Bavaria, Germany. Neighbouring districts are Tirschenreuth, Bayreuth, Hof, and to the west the Czech Karlovy Vary Region.-Geography:...
bought a 6,500 m² of land in the former American out-of-bounds area, on which the Backöfele stands. Together with the Fichtelgebirge Nature Park
Fichtelgebirge Nature Park
The Fichtelgebirge Nature Park lies in the tri-border area of Saxony, the Czech Republic and Bavaria and has an area of . It is maintained by the Naturpark Fichtelgebirge e. V. in Wunsiedel.- Landscape :...
they have implemented land rehabilitation
Land rehabilitation
Land rehabilitation is the process of returning the land in a given area to some degree of its former state, after some process has resulted in its damage...
measures. Since 29 August 1996 the Backöfele observation tower has been open to the public again. As part of the environmental restoration scheme the old refuge hut belonging to the Weißenstadt mountain rescue service was demolished despite the fact that the Fichtelgebirge National Park had given assurances only a few days beforehand that they wanted to preserve this hut for walkers and mountain rescue teams. As a result the Weißenstadt rescue service built a new refuge hut below the summit area.
Biology
The low average temperature of 3.7 °C around the summit of the Schneeberg means that it is still able to support a glacial plant community. Access to the areas of vegetation is not permitted, because the plants are extremely susceptible to trampling. Below the summit area is one of the last German capercaillieCapercaillie
The Western Capercaillie , also known as the Wood Grouse, Heather Cock or Capercaillie , is the largest member of the grouse family, reaching over 100 cm in length and 6.7 kg in weight. The largest one ever recorded in captivity had a weight of 7.2 kg....
populations outside of the Alps
Alps
The Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....
; they are also protected because capercaillies are very easily disturbed. In winter, tracks are frequently seen that indicate the return of the lynx
Lynx
A lynx is any of the four Lynx genus species of medium-sized wildcats. The name "lynx" originated in Middle English via Latin from Greek word "λύγξ", derived from the Indo-European root "*leuk-", meaning "light, brightness", in reference to the luminescence of its reflective eyes...
to the high Fichtelgebirge around the Schneeberg.
Trails
The tarmac road to the summit of the Schneeberg is closed to the private vehicles. The peak can however be climbed on foot using the various trails. The points of departure for these trails include BischofsgrünBischofsgrün
Bischofsgrün is a municipality in the district of Bayreuth in Bavaria in Germany.Bischofsgrün is situated within the Fichtelgebirge mountain range between the range's two largest mountains; Schneeberg and the Ochsenkopf...
, Weißenstadt
Weißenstadt
Weißenstadt is a town in the district of Wunsiedel, in Upper Franconia, Bavaria, Germany. It is situated in the Fichtelgebirge Mountains, on the river Eger, 11 km northwest of Wunsiedel.- Geography :...
, Meierhof (Weißenstadt), Vordorfermühle
Tröstau
Tröstau is a municipality in the district of Wunsiedel in Bavaria in Germany....
, Leupoldsdorf
Leupoldsdorf
Leupoldsdorf is a village in the municipality of Tröstau in the district of Wunsiedel im Fichtelgebirge in Bavaria, Germany.- Geography :Leupoldsdorf is located in the Fichtelgebirge in the province of Upper Franconia in northeast Bavaria. The river Röslau flows through area, but numerous smaller...
erhammer, Silberhaus (Tröstau) and the Seehaus car park on the B 303/E 48. These walks are between five and eight kilometres long.
Sources
- Rainer H. Schmeisser: Der Schneeberg, Beiträge zur Geschichts- und Landeskunde des Fichtelgebirges Nr. 1, Regensburg 1979
- Dietmar Herrmann: Lexikon Fichtelgebirge, Ackermann Verlag Hof/Saale
- Rudolf Thiem: Der Schneeberg - höchster Berg des Fichtelgebirges' (Heft 13/2006 der Schriftenreihe Das Fichtelgebirge) ISBN 3-926621-47-8