Welcome to the Fichtelgebirge Nature Reserve

Like a huge horseshoe, the mountain range of the Fichtelgebirge is situated in the
Northeast of Bavaria. The highest Franconian mountains, the Schneeberg and
Ochsenkopf, rise to a height of more than 1000 metres. Wilde granite pinnacles rise
from the rustic mountain forest – as if piled by a giant’s hand.
Four large rivers originate from this low mountain range at the heart of Europe: the
Main, Eger, Naab and Saale rivers send their waters from the mountains of the
Fichtelgebirge into all four cardinal directions. Hidden in the centre of the wooded
mountain chain, a wide and diverse cultural landscape has developed. Placid villages
are surrounded by fields and meadows full of flowers and herbs.
In pretty towns, the wealth is still reflected, which once originated in ore mining and
the early industry in the Fichtelgebirge. The hard labour of the people and the rough,
almost Nordic climate formed a strangely mystical and uniquely diverse landscape.
Many types of animals and plants which have long disappeared elsewhere still find
their home here.